Battle for Zim airspace intensifies

Published: 14 September 2017

TRAVELLERS to Zimbabwe could soon reap the benefits of a price war following the registering of at least half a dozen airlines that are keen to service both local and international routes.

Information gathered by The Financial Gazette shows that in the last nine months, several airlines such as MJ Air Private Limited, Emerald Airlines, Fly Africa, Fly Kumba, Rainbow Airlines and Zimskies have applied for air service permits to operate on the local, regional and international routes. Aviation experts, however, assert that the new airlines might find it tough to operate under the country's current economic environment.

Rainbow Airlines has struggled to commence operations due to financial constraints, while the national carrier Air Zimbabwe is on the verge of collapse owing to a $300 million legacy debt, mismanagement and lack of confidence, which has forced passengers to turn to other airlines. Official figures show that the national flag carriers' passenger numbers have plummeted to about 230 000 per annum in the past few years, from a peak of one million in 1996.

The parastatal, which has failed to attract a significant passenger load since it resumed operations in 2012, recently sank to a new low, issuing handwritten boarding passes and there are unconfirmed reports that government wants to liquidate the company and register a new firm, Zimbabwe Airlines.

The carrier was also banned from operating in the European Union in May on safety concerns even though it does not currently fly there. Air Zimbabwe, which is making a monthly loss of $2 million as a result of high operating costs and old equipment, recently retrenched more than a third of its workforce to prevent the state-owned airline from going bankrupt.

"In light of the huge financial challenges which the company is faced with, a decision to compulsorily retrench employees with immediate effect has been made," the airline said in a July letter sent to affected employees. The job cuts were meant to "contain operational costs and save the national airline's viability as a going concern".

Founded as Central African Airways in 1946, the airline's fortunes have declined with the country's economy halving in size since 2000 as unemployment and a cash shortage cut consumer demand for products ranging from plane tickets to beer over the past few years. In addition to domestic flights, the airline, which used to operate routes to Europe and China, flies to South Africa and Zambia. The introduction of new airlines also comes in the wake of renewed interest by international airlines to service the country following the opening of a new multi-million dollar terminal in Victoria Falls.

In the past few months, Kenya Airways, RwandAir and SA Airlink have all made a beeline to Zimbabwe amid strong indications that Turkish Airlines could also join the stampede for the hotly contested Victoria Falls route.

If the discussions with Turkish Airlines succeed, this would open Zimbabwe to a wider network of source markets. Turkish Airlines flies to 47 domestic and 221 international destinations in 117 countries, excluding those only served by Turkish Airlines Cargo.

Other airlines that currently operate in Zimbabwe include British Airways, Qantas Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Kenya Airways, British Airways' ComAir, Emirates, Taag Angolan, Namibian Airways and Malawian Airways among others.
- fingaz