NATIONAL airline Air Zimbabwe yesterday made its maiden flight connecting the country’s three international airports, 179 days after it suspended operations on March 28 due to Covid-19.
There was excitement from the airliner, tourism industry
and other stakeholders following the resumption of flights amid calls for
locals to embrace travelling by air to promote domestic tourism.
The Boeing 737 departed RG Mugabe International Airport in
Harare in the morning with about 30 passengers via Bulawayo where it dropped a
few passengers at the JMN Nkomo International before landing at the Victoria
Falls International at 9.35am.
Upon landing, the airliner was welcomed by the usual
rituals of cannon spraying before port health staff sanitised passengers and
conducted temperature checks.
In Victoria Falls it dropped a handful of passengers while
others who included tourism agents and operators departed for Harare with the
same plane about an hour later.
One of the passengers Miss Perseverance Mahara from Harare
could not hide her joy landing in Victoria Falls for the first time in her
life.
An enthused Air Zimbabwe corporate communications officer
Ms Firstme Vitori said necessary Covid-19 protocols had been put in place.
She said the airliner will be flying three times a week on
Mondays-Wednesdays and Fridays on the Harare-Bulawayo-Harare route.
“It has been a long break since our last flight before
lockdown and we are very excited to have resumed our operations today on the
domestic front for now as we monitor demand. For our regional route we are
expecting to start on the 3rd of October on the Harare-Dar es Salaam route
every Tuesday and Saturday and we hope to increase frequencies as the year
progresses,” she said.
Ms Vitori said plans were underway to resume flights to
South Africa next month using the ERJ145.
She said the airline will enforce wearing of masks,
sanitising of hands and temperature checks among other Covid-19 guidelines.
“What we want to assure our travelling public is that as
Air Zimbabwe we have put in place all measures to ensure that their health and
safety is protected.
“We are working with guidelines that are provided for by
the Ministry of Health and Child Care, World Health Organisation (WHO) and
International Air Transport Association and we will ensure that there is strict
adherence to the guidelines.
“We also want to encourage the locals to come on board and
travel with the national airline. We are working together with key stakeholders
like Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, tour operators and Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority (ZTA) to ensure that we come up with packages that are affordable to
locals. We want to resuscitate the Flame Lily brand which we are confident will
come up with affordable packages for locals,” said Ms Vitori.
She said Air Zimbabwe targets flexibility and
sustainability. “As we resume our operations going into the future, we are
looking at a period of three years when we should be home to modern aircraft
that will be added to our fleet. There is no going back but we will continue to
monitor especially the demand side given that we are coming from the Covid-19
lockdown.
Already we are getting bookings and this flight had
passengers on board,” she said. Resumption of airlines is key to resuscitation
of the tourism industry whose viability hinges mostly on air transport.
Victoria Falls, as the country’s tourism capital, hopes for a return of
airlines especially from the region and international tourists source markets.
The industry is one of the key economic pillars alongside agriculture, mining
and manufacturing.
Efforts are being made to capacitate domestic tourism as
the country awaits the return of regional and international travellers.
ZTA corporate communications and industry relations manager
Ms Hazel Zisanhi who was also on the plane said the development means a lot for
domestic tourism and augurs well with the Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy
towards attaining a US$5 billion economy by year 2025.
“I must also commend Air Zimbabwe and Civil Aviation
Authority of Zimbabwe for the safety precautionary measures that they have put
in place. On board we were really excited. It was a welcome relief and
reassuring to see the cabin crew wearing complete personal protective
equipment.
“We are definitely looking forward to the resumption of
regional and international flights which will ensure that we have our tourists
arriving from various source markets. As you know tourism contributes about 14
percent to Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product,” she said.
Tourism executive Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa said operators
are geared for the return of clients after a long break.
“As you can see, we are very excited by this development
and you can imagine the maiden flight has been done by our own national
carrier. We are very excited that we are going in the right direction and that
brings confidence to us as most people had not worked in the last six months.
“The whole tourism industry was just dead and to see people
coming to work is amazing. We want to thank Air Zimbabwe for the maiden flight
hoping to see more flights coming in because the confidence has already been
built and we are getting there.
“We came here to observe what’s happening from the airport
and we are going to be observing activity in our own tourist attraction, where
there are gaps, we will then work on them because this area has never been
chartered before and we don’t know how to handle it. We are all learning in the
process as we get ready for international flights,” said Mrs Murasiranwa.
Operators, car hire and taxis are ready while restaurants,
immigration and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority are also ready for international
arrivals expected in two weeks when Ethiopian Airlines makes its maiden return.
Victoria Falls Airport manager Mr Ronnie Masawi said after
successfully welcoming Air Zimbabwe, they are convinced the facility is
prepared to handle as many flights. Chronicle
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