MORE international airlines are expected to start servicing the country next year, while some, from the 14 already doing so, are considering expanding their operations through increased frequency and use of larger aircraft following improvement in aviation infrastructure.
To improve the country’s major aviation infrastructure, the Victoria Falls and the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo airports were upgraded to international standards, and both can now handle 1.5 million and 1.2 million passengers annually respectively.
The country’s biggest airport, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International, is also being upgraded to increase its passenger capacity to six million people per year. Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) director general Engineer Elijah Chingosho on Thursday said Zimbabwe was poised to attract more airlines.
“To help attract more traffic into the country, there are joint marketing efforts by various stakeholders such as the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, the local airlines, the National Handling Companies, CAAZ and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. With these and other efforts, the number of airlines flying into the country is expected to increase,” he said.
“Some of the current airlines flying into Zimbabwe are expected to expand their operations through using larger aircraft or increasing frequency of services.”
The 14 international airlines flying into the country include Air Botswana, Airlink, Air Tanzania, Emirates Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Eurowings Discover, Kenya Airways, LAM Mozambique Airlines, KLM (Cargo), MackAir, Malawian Airlines, RwandAir, South African Airways, and Qatar Airways. — New Ziana