Air Zimbabwe hard hit by tourist boycott
Zimbabwe’s national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, has been forced to limit the number of flights and downgrade its 120-seater Boeing 737 on the lucrative Harare/Victory Falls route to a 14-seater plane due to plummeting passenger numbers.
Air Zimbabwe spokesman David Mwenga told local media that a “serious” decline in passenger numbers, soaring jet fuels costs, and the implosion of Zimbabwe’s currency had forced the airline to implement the cost saving measures.
Mr Mwenga said: “The European Union, Australia, New Zealand and countries in the Americas are all warning their citizens against travelling to Zimbabwe. This has been a blow to our tourism industry, and has impacted significantly on regional airlines”.
The smaller 14-seater plane is cheaper to charter and operate than the usual Boeing 737, he added, but even it was struggling to cover costs. “We have therefore also cut back on the number of flights between the capital Harare and the tourism town of Victoria Falls,” said Mwenga.
The downgrading of the route follows shortly after Air Zimbabwe cancelled its direct Johannesburg/Victoria Falls flights due to low passenger numbers. The drop in tourist arrivals has meanwhile hit both Victoria Falls and the nearby Hwange National Park particularly hard. The once thriving Hwange Lodge booked only 10 guests per week during March – at the peak period for international arrivals.
(African Eye News Service)
Information supplied by Travel News Now
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