News / National
Fly Africa to resume flights
13 Nov 2017 at 07:29hrs | Views
FlyAfrica Zimbabwe, which suspended operations in 2015, is set to resume flights after its new shareholders has to date invested $7 million of the targeted $9 million to resume flights.
The airline last flew 24 months ago when it was entangled in a bitter war with the then shareholders, prompting it to surrender its licence to the government at the time.
The airline's executive chairperson, Cassidy Mugwagwa stressed that Fly Africa is now back in the air and has invested circa 78 percent of the planned investment, with its shareholder disputes now resolved.
According to Mugwagwa, Fly Africa currently has five aircrafts on its operating license and is looking to invest more towards procuring new aircrafts; and will hopefully utilize the remaining $2 million of its remaining planned expenditure towards that cause.
After shareholder squabbles in 2015 Chakanyuka Karase, who held the licence to operate the airline in Zimbabwe, approached the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development and surrendered the licence.
The Karase family previously owned 51% of FlyAfrica Zimbabwe through Nu Aero (Pvt) Limited, while the other 49% was previously owned by Mauritius-based FlyAfrica limited.
Mugwagwa said after a month of plying the local route the airline would introduce the Harare to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lusaka flights.
In 2018, Mugwagwa optimistically said, the airline will ply international routes such as London, Dubai and China, adding that the company envisioned procuring its own aeroplanes.
"We can't be seriously considered an airline if we don't have our own planes," he said.
The airline last flew 24 months ago when it was entangled in a bitter war with the then shareholders, prompting it to surrender its licence to the government at the time.
The airline's executive chairperson, Cassidy Mugwagwa stressed that Fly Africa is now back in the air and has invested circa 78 percent of the planned investment, with its shareholder disputes now resolved.
According to Mugwagwa, Fly Africa currently has five aircrafts on its operating license and is looking to invest more towards procuring new aircrafts; and will hopefully utilize the remaining $2 million of its remaining planned expenditure towards that cause.
The Karase family previously owned 51% of FlyAfrica Zimbabwe through Nu Aero (Pvt) Limited, while the other 49% was previously owned by Mauritius-based FlyAfrica limited.
Mugwagwa said after a month of plying the local route the airline would introduce the Harare to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lusaka flights.
In 2018, Mugwagwa optimistically said, the airline will ply international routes such as London, Dubai and China, adding that the company envisioned procuring its own aeroplanes.
"We can't be seriously considered an airline if we don't have our own planes," he said.
Source - online
