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Mukudzei Chingwere Herald Reporter
Two local airlines, the national flag carrier Air Zimbabwe and privately-owned fastjet, yesterday resumed domestic flights after a six-month furlough necessitated by strict Covid-19 preventative guidelines outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Air Zimbabwe resumed its Harare-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls route, while Fastjet serviced the Harare-Bulawayo route.

This followed the green light by the Government after Cabinet received an update from Vice President Constantino Chiwenga on the preparedness of the airports and related infrastructure.

During the lockdown period, Air Zimbabwe was kept afloat by charter flights for returning citizens and equipment to fight the pandemic.

Air Zimbabwe will have local flights every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while the regional Harare/Dar es Salaam/Harare schedule will initially operate every Tuesday and Saturday beginning October 3.

For a start, this will be determined by the market demand.

Air Zimbabwe corporate communications officer Ms Firstme Vitori said in their operations, they would be guided by the Covid-19 protocols and assured passengers of safety.

“We are guided by the protocols and we will continue to insist on the use of face masks and sanitisers,” she said.

“There are also high efficiency air filters and they ensure the air circulating within the aircraft is always clean.

“There is little risk of contamination when sitting next to infected passengers. We want tourism to recover so we are working on some packages for local tourism with all stakeholders involved. There is also the issue of profitability and sustainability.”

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority’s manager corporate communications and industry relations Ms Hazel Zisanhi was on board the first flight on Air Zimbabwe since March and said this tapped into their agenda of promoting domestic tourism.

“Resumption of domestic flights is very important for domestic tourism, we are promoting domestic tourism right now and we are hoping international borders will be open soon so that the tourism sector returns to normal,” said Ms Zisanhi.

Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls chairman Mr Anald Musonza said the resumption of domestic flights and tourism had a symbiotic relationship.

“We are excited as HAZ that our national airline has started its flights into Victoria Falls today after six months of no activity,” he said.

“This kick-starts our domestic tourism and we hope all operators will come up with specials that allow the industry to restart and allow the domestic market to start travelling.”

NMB Bank Limited agencies manager Mr Witness Tenderere, who travelled from Harare to Victoria Falls for business, said the return of the domestic flights would bring convenience to corporate operations.

“The return of domestic airlines assures convenience,” he said.

“You can leave Harare for Victoria Falls and return on the same day, so we are very happy that flights have resumed.”

Some passengers on board included officials from Zimbabwe Stock Exchange who were on a business trip as well.

In a statement, fastjet said the lockdown had been tough on all businesses and the travel industry had been badly affected.

“We lost out on over five months of regular flights and the revenue that we would have generated include that from the leisure market travellers that go on vacation during these months,” said the airline.