Govt urged to increase number of airlines on domestic routes

THE Government has been urged to increase the number of airlines which ply local routes so as to promote connectivity which will in turn encourage domestic tourism.

In a telephone interview, Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) president Mr Innocent Manyera said increasing airlines which ply local routes will complement Government’s efforts to attract foreign airlines which land in Zimbabwe through refurbishing airports.

“The Government has invested over $300 million in the refurbishment of the country’s three main airports and it has plans to construct and refurbish others. Setting up airports in different cities increases connectivity. We need to adopt Namibia’s setup which has well co-ordinated domestic aircrafts in place plying local routes. This promotes domestic tourism as locals usually have to drive to destinations for long hours and local airlines will reduce travelling durations,” said Mr Manyera.

Mr Manyera’s remarks come at a time when the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development plans to buy three Embraer ERJ145 aircraft for Air Zimbabwe at a cost of US$6 million and lease two other similar aircraft which will ply routes in southern Africa as part of a 100-day work plan.

The ministry intends to buy three second-hand Embraer ERJ145 at a cost of US$6 million in order to increase its fleet and frequency of flights, as well as improve service delivery. The money is expected to come from “internal resources”.