Air Zimbabwe has said it will cut 500 jobs in a bid to prevent the trouble airline from going out of business. “We have no option other but to right-size or else we are dead,” Air Zimbabwe chief executive Peter Chikumba told AFP.
Air Zimbabwe reported that annual passenger numbers dropped from a peak of one million in 1996 to just 300 000 now. Air Zimbabwe is reported to be 30 million US dollars in debt and is said to have asked the government to sell its stake in the company in a bid to raise desperately needed cash from private investors.
“If we do not do anything about it, the business will collapse and it will be very unfortunate if this happens,” Chikumba told AFP.
Air Zimbabwe is also said to be faced by all sorts of problems……the airline is struggling to pay it’s membership fees with the airline regulation body International Air Transport Association (IATA), and they are also having problems paying landing fees at London Gatwick airport.
Air Zimbabwe’s planes are also too old and probably a danger to passengers;
“Our 737 fleet is 23 years old and has outlived its economic life span,” he said.“The standard economic life span of an aircraft is about 15 years. Maintenance costs are high, spares for these aeroplanes are scarce,” Chikumba added.
So, Air Zimbabwe is completely broke and on the brink of collapse??? What are the prospects for recovery??? Is Air Zimbabwe going to see any increase in passenger numbers soon??? The answer is a Big NO! A lot of work has got to be done to improve the tourism sector and the general image of the country, make it more attractive to the international community.
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