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Africa Moyo Deputy News Editor
Air Zimbabwe’s Boeing 767, which developed a technical fault on Friday in Bulawayo is back in the skies after engineers fixed the problem.

It resumed flights on Sunday evening when it serviced the Harare-Dar es Salaam route and yesterday plied the Harare-Victoria Falls route before flying to Johannesburg.

It was expected back in Harare yesterday evening.

However, Bulawayo is expected to continue without services due to “ground power challenges”, as the aircraft engine cannot be ignited in the absence of an Air Start Unit, once it is switched off.

Airzim corporate communications officer Ms Firstme Vitori confirmed to The Herald yesterday that the aircraft was back in the skies.

“Yes, it was fixed and we have resumed operations. It started by flying to Dar es Salaam (on Sunday night) and it did all other routes (Harare-Victoria Falls; Harare-Johannesburg),” she said.

“The only route that is outstanding is Harare-Bulawayo, which has the challenge of ground power. But we expect to all routes to be back on stream soon.”

The aircraft, which is the only one being flown by Air Zimbabwe at the moment, developed a technical fault on Friday in Bulawayo as it began its “morning triangle” of Harare-Bulawayo; Bulawayo-Victoria Falls and Victoria Falls-Harare.

The aircraft was expected to fly to Johannesburg from Harare later that day. The breakdown left passengers in a quandary.

There were reports that Airzim management had bungled arrangements to have the B767 fixed in Bulawayo after “hiring an individual” to ferry an Air Start Unit using his truck to Bulawayo.

Sources suggested that the individual was hired without a formal contract and was despatched to Bulawayo on Friday at 10pm, but had not arrived by midday on Saturday.