SW Radio Africa (London)
Tichaona Sibanda
19 September 2007
British Airways, the only international foreign airline still flying to Zimbabwe, will cancel its direct flights to Harare from the end of next month.
A statement issued by the UK's largest carrier on Tuesday night said: 'We have made no secret about the fact we have been reviewing our Harare service. We will be announcing the conclusions very shortly.'
BA said the reason for canceling the three weekly flights to Zimbabwe was based purely on economic reasons. On most journeys the airline was flying half its full payload, except peak seasons in August and the festive season.
Reports in London said the move by BA may also encourage other British businesses to review their links with Zimbabwe, which has seen inflation rocket to 8,000 percent. Many shops also have no food, hospitals have no medicine and the average life expectancy has come down to 37 for men and 34 for women.
British Airways has been flying to Zimbabwe since the 1930's. The only gap in the service was between 1965 and 1979, when flights were suspended due to economic sanctions.
Passengers who prefer BA to Air Zimbabwe will be forced to make alternative travel arrangements in the future. BA still has direct flights to Lilongwe in Malawi and Lusaka Zambia, where passengers would connect to Harare. Flying to Johannesburg is another alternative before connecting to Zimbabwe.
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