A lucrative deal that promised to generate business worth millions of US dollars to the beleaguered national airline, Air Zimbabwe, is tottering on the brink following demands by Beijing authorities that the airline’s charter flights must apply for special operations permits before being allowed to undertake any flights in Chinese air space.
Baffled Air Zimbabwe officials had first met with red tape at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade when they were refused by officials a diplomatic Note Vebale to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs supporting request for permission for the flights to be undertaken.
Air Zimbabwe only got the note following the personal intervention of Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Manzou.
Immediately upon receiving the note, Air Zimbabwe made the necessary representations to the Chinese authorities directly with copies to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Harare and the Zimbabwe Embassy in Beijing. Two days ago Air Zimbabwe was told their request had been turned down.
However, there is a glimmer of hope that an application for "traffic rights" to China may rescue the potentially multi-million-dollar charter flights if granted.
That notwithstanding, Air Zimbabwe will still have to apply for a landing permit even if they were granted the traffic rights to fly in Chinese air space.
A South African company is reported to already have deposited more than US$1 million into the Air Zimbabwe account in Johannesburg initially for two charter flights to collect tonnes of coronavirus testing and PPEs, among others, for South Africa. It is reliably understood that other companies had hoped to also charter the aircraft, also to Beijing, to collect their own equipment.
Last week, The Herald was told that "a number" of companies based in the Democratic Republic of Congo" had also made inquiries to Air Zimbabwe regarding charter flights to Beijing for the same purpose.
Air Zimbabwe have already operated a charter flight to Beijing for the Government and crews have acquired valuable experience on how to operate under current restrictive situations flying into and out of Changi Airport in Singapore where they have to make a technical stopover, and into and out of Beijing where they collect cargo.
Crew members told The Herald that conditions for the flight were that they were not allowed to step outside the aircraft at the two airports. As a result, the flight crew that would normally take over the flight at Changi for the 12-hour round trip to […]