Zimbabwe reopens to commercial pax traffic

Zimbabwe reopens its domestic airspace on September 10, 2020, followed by international flights on October 1, 2020, but travellers will be required to have COVID-19 clearance certificates, the government said. The country suspended flights and shut its borders in March to curb the spread of the virus, which to date has killed 206 people and infected 6, 837, of which 5, 345 have recovered, according to Zimbabwean government statistics. In a statement issued after a September 8 cabinet meeting, the government said all travellers would be required to have a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) COVID-19 clearance certificate issued by a recognised facility within 48 hours from the date of departure, in line with WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines. It said standard operating procedures had been put in place for the re-opening of international and some domestic airports, while national guidelines for aviation safety and security had been developed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe. These were in addition to temperature testing, social distancing, sanitization, and mandatory wearing of masks. Air Zimbabwe (UM, Harare Int’l) would resume schedules in due course, spokesperson Firstme Vitori told ch-aviation. “Currently we are polishing up the operational framework. Specific dates and schedules will be announced soon,” she said. The airline suspended all flights, both domestic and international, in line with the lockdown on March 26. Vitori said the airline’s B777-200(ER), Z-RGM (msn 28421) had undergone mandatory period maintenance work in Addis Ababa in April, but had returned to Harare where it was now undergoing local regulatory compliances. The airline earlier said it was hoping to lease out the B777 to generate enough revenue to acquire smaller aircraft, in line with its turnaround plan.