In a statement, the airline, which was placed under
reconstruction in terms of the State Indebted and Insolvent Companies Act in
2018, described 2020 as a “tough and tumultuous year” due to the adverse impact
of Covid-19.
“We look back at 2020, a tough and tumultuous year due to
the Covid-19 pandemic, with great appreciation and gratitude for all the
support, feedback and engagements we have had with you our valued customers.
“Our focus in 2021 is fleet augmentation, route expansion
and service delivery,” said Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive officer Mr
Joseph Makonese.
The parastatal has been declared technically insolvent and
was saddled with a US$341 million debt overhang, 92 percent of which was owed
to local creditors. In the past, the airline as part of its fleet augmentation
programme, has acquired aircraft such as the 282-seater long-range Boeing
777-200ER and an Embraer ERJ145 regional aircraft.
“While there have been delays in the deployment into
service of the ERJ145, we expect the aircraft to be serviceable by the end of
January 2021. We are in the process of acquiring a second ERJ145 for deployment
into service in the first half of 2021,” said Mr Makonese. The deployment of
the aircraft would allow Air Zimbabwe to initially fly Harare to Johannesburg
twice daily and the Johannesburg to Bulawayo route four times per week.
“Tourists and traders to Dar es Salaam will also have the convenience to
connect between Harare-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls-Dar es Salaam with a return on
the same day three times weekly. Domestic flights will also be increased to
promote the tourism industry through our Flame Lily packages,” he said.
Mr Makonese said regional expansion is poised with the
proposed addition of Lusaka, Lubumbashi and Kinshasa as destinations as the
year progresses. Though scheduled operations were suspended globally from the
end of the first quarter in 2020 due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions, Mr
Makonese said Air Zimbabwe was able to operate cargo and repatriation flights.
Herald
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