Govt invites private met forecasts

GOVERNMENT has invited private players to provide aeronautical meteorological services to support the aviation industry through provision of routine meteorological reports and climatological information for specific places or airspace.

This was announced by Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza in a Statutory Instrument published in a Government Gazette this week.

The promulgation of the regulation comes as Zimbabwe and the Southern African region are bracing for Cyclone Idai, which is accompanied by strong winds in some areas and heavy rainfall of above 50 millimetres.

The cyclone has already caused some rains in Zimbabwe and is expected to ease in the next few days.

The regulations were promulgated in terms of Section 79 of the Civil Aviation Act (Chapter 13:16). Aeronautics is the study of the science of flight.

In terms of the regulations, aeronautical meteorological service is defined as any service that provides meteorological information in support of aviation and it includes the supply of forecast meteorological information for a specific area or portion of airspace, collection and dissemination of meteorological information, supply of written and oral meteorological information on existing and expected meteorological conditions.

It also includes maintaining a watch over meteorological information on existing and expected meteorological conditions.