SW Radio Africa (London)
Tichaona Sibanda
26 November 2007
Zambian Airways will stop its direct flights to Harare from Friday, becoming the second airline to pull out of Zimbabwe in less than a month.
British Airways stopped its direct flights from London on 30th October, citing viability problems. David Evans, the chief operating officer for Zambia Airways told Newsreel from Lusaka Monday that the reason for ditching the route was that it was no longer profitable.
The airline flies daily into Zimbabwe and the last flight on the Harare-Lusaka route will be on November 30th. Evans said the decision was taken purely on a commercial basis because of continuing operational challenges caused by high fuel costs and extreme currency fluctuations in Zimbabwe.
'We have been keeping a close watch on the route and came to a conclusion that there is no prospect of improvement in the immediate future. But should the situation improve we will seriously look at the situation again,' Evans said.
Customers booked for travel between Lusaka and Harare after December 1st will be offered alternative flight arrangements or a full refund on their tickets. Air Zimbabwe will continue to service the route.
In 1999 Harare international airport was crowded with the emblems of 18 foreign airlines with Lufthansa, Air France and TAP Portugal also linking directly to Europe. BA was flying four consistently packed Boeing 747 jumbo jets to Harare four times a week.
Since 2001, the Australian, French, Dutch and Portuguese airlines have withdrawn from Zimbabwe, leaving the state carrier Air Zimbabwe, South African Airways, Kenyan Airlines, Egypt Air and Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopian Airlines have stated they will stop flying to Zimbabwe at the end of the year.
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