Zambian Airline pulls out of Zim

2007-11-26 11:00

Harare - Zambian Airways is to halt direct flights between Harare and Lusaka next month as the route is no longer profitable, says an airline official.

Zambian Airways chief executive officer Mutembo Nchito said the last flight on the Harare-Lusaka route would be on November 30.

Nchito said: "Zambia Airways regrets to advise the general public that it will be suspending its daily services between Lusaka and Harare from December 01 2007 because of continuing operational challenges on the route caused by high fuel costs and extreme currency fluctuations in Zimbabwe.

"This is a commercial decision that we have taken after reviewing the performance of the Lusaka-Harare route for some months. Regrettably, we see no prospect of improvement in the immediate future, and we have been forced to act this way."

Zim 'in throes of economic crisis'

Zambian Airways' decision followed that of a number of international airlines that had pulled out of the Zimbabwe route such as British Airways, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, KLM, and Air France.

Nchito said customers who were booked for travel between Lusaka and Harare after December 01 would be offered alternative flight arrangements or a full refund on their tickets.

The southern African nation of Zimbabwe was in the throes of economic crisis characterised by world-record inflation, more than 80% joblessness and chronic shortages of foreign currency and fuel.

The tourism industry, once a mainstay of the economy, had shrunk drastically for the past seven years since Zimbabwe embarked on a controversial programme to seize farms owned by the minority white population.

President Robert Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, had blamed Zimbabwe's economic woes on former colonial power, Britain, and its Western allies.

- AFP