ZIMBABWE’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IMPACT ON AVIATION SECTOR
(Posted 27th January 2019)
RwandAir is the latest airline facing up to the reality that Zimbabwe no longer has the means to allow repatriation of ticket sales.
Mentioned here repeatedly in the past has the government’s initiative to set aside foreign exchange to allow airlines begin sending ticket sales proceeds to their head office locations all but failed and the continued street protests in key cities like Harare and Bulawayo have not helped either.
The recent doubling of fuel prices in Zimbabwe triggered extensive and continued demonstrations, impacting not only on the level of economic activities in the country but also impacting on travelers coming to the country for tourism or trade.
No figures could be established what exact amount of money owed to airlines is stuck in Zimbabwe but the country is now at level par with such notorious offenders like Sudan, South Sudan and Venezuela, the worst among the bad boys for the airlines.
Payments for tickets bought in Zimbabwe for flights with RwandAir can now only be made with credit cards issued outside the country and the purchases have to be made at the airline’s office in Harare as the only point of sale.
RwandAir serves Harare four times a week in conjunction with their flights to Cape Town, for which the airline has fifth freedom traffic rights between Harare and Cape Town, both to and from.
