AirZim domestic flights remain suspended

The board chairman of Air Zimbabwe, Jonathan Kadzura on Thursday declared that all domestic flights will remain suspended as long as the two 737-200 planes are still grounded.

The national airline grounded three of its Boeing 737-200 series in April after the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe indicated that the planes had passed their design service objective of 20 years and were increasingly becoming expensive to run.

However, the manufacturer (Boeing) gave AirZim the green light to continue flying its 737-200 planes, saying they were fit to fly.
Last night, Mr Kadzura said it did not make business sense to service domestic routes with the 767-200 even at full capacity.

His declaration comes against the background of media reports that the national airline cancelled its Harare-Bulawayo flight on Sunday and booked the passengers on the bus.
"There is no way I can authorise the 767-200 to Bulawayo with 30 people. That does not make any business sense. Even at full capacity to Bulawayo, the 767 plane will be very expensive.

"I am not like a stupid bus operator who can authorise a bus to drive from Mutare to Harare with one passenger. We have to make decisions, which do not destroy the airline.
"I do not have planes to service the domestic route.

"The 737-200 planes were grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe. Those were the planes that serviced the domestic market," Mr Kadzura said.
Meanwhile, our Mutare Bureau reported that scores of passengers who were scheduled to fly to Bulawayo on Sunday were left stranded after their flight was cancelled at the last minute due to operational challenges.

In a telephone interview on Monday, an Air Zimbabwe official, who refused to disclose her name, confirmed the cancellation of flights and said they gave passengers three options.
Said the official: "Our flight to Bulawayo on Sunday had to be cancelled due to operational challenges and we had to give the passengers three options.

"Those who were in a hurry were asked to use a bus on Monday afternoon, while others had their flights re-booked for Wednesday.
"Those who felt hard done by the move will have their money refunded," said the official.

One of the affected passengers, Mutare businessman, Mr Isau Mupfumi, who was scheduled to fly to Bulawayo to attend to business, said he was surprised to be told that the flight had been cancelled.
"This is so inconveniencing because we had already made plans for meetings in Bulawayo, only to be told that the flight had been cancelled.

"When flights are cancelled, the service provider usually pays for the passenger's accommodation while they wait for the next flight and this did not happen after Sunday's flight cancellation.
"Some of us we are in the public transport business and it was an insult for Air Zimbabwe to ask us to use buses to travel to Bulawayo," complained Mr Mupfu- mi.

Some of the passengers going to local routes like Bulawayo and Victoria are first travelling to Johannesburg in South Africa and reconnect back to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls due to Air Zimbabwe's inconsistency.
Most passengers who opt for refunds have to wait for a little longer to have their money as the national airline takes time to provide the funds.
"We do not pay refunds there and that is why we usually try to re-book our passengers in the next available flight," said the Air Zimbabwe official.

Mr Kadzura yesterday defended the decision, saying it made business sense.
"The decision to book people on buses were made by my management and I am fully behind them.

"That was the only sensible thing they could do. These things take a certain level of education to understand," Mr Kadzura said.