Zim wants South Africa Airways to be UNWTO preferred carrier

Zimbabwe has identified the South African Airways (SAA) as preferred carrier for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference that it will co-host with Zambia in August next year.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive Karikoga Kaseke said SAA is most likely to be the official carrier for the conference in the absence of Air Zimbabwe.

"The official position is that SAA is our preferred official carrier," Zimbabwe's New Ziana quoted Kaseke as saying.

Kaseke said the choice was "technical" as SAA flew multiple international routes.

"SAA flies the most international routes where these delegates will be coming from. It is also a member of the Star Alliance and so is a good choice," he said.

SAA had already been approached and had shown interest to participate, said Kaseke.

"There have been formal consultations with the SAA local office and the head office in South Africa and they were happy with our proposal. An official statement will be issued in January next year," he said.

Kaseke dismissed reports that the national airliner was being sidelined.

It had been widely expected that Air Zim would be the official carrier for the UNWTO but it is unlikely the airline would revitalise its operations in time for the conference.

The national carrier risks being banned from flying into foreign airspace if it fails to comply with a 90-day Interna-tional Air Transport Association deadline to comply with global safety standards.

The national carrier is beset with a host of problems, including a debt of US$100 million and an ageing fleet.