Story by Owen Mandovha
THE implementation of the Open Skies Policy by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) has been instrumental in attracting more airlines into the country’s airspace.
The open skies policy seeks to increase domestic flight capacity by harnessing intra-continental flights through unrestricted access into the country’s airspace by peer airlines.
This is done by way of agreements between civil aviation regulators of different countries in Africa.
CAAZ says it is working with several countries in Africa to promote the policy.
“Zimbabwe has bilateral air service agreements with other 13 countries which was approved last year and we are aimed at bringing in more investors and tourists into the country by removing any restrictions to our airspace which will boost the economy,” said Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ)Director General, Engineer Elijah Chingosho.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to air travel in a sector that was already facing high operational costs, but the local industry has witnessed a sustained comeback, with many airlines having relaunched several routes from Zimbabwe.
“The policy will help accelerate the recovery of the aviation industry and air travel as more airlines will be flying into the country,” said Engineer Chingosho.
Over 10 new routes have been launched this year alone by different regional and continental airlines, including the Harare – Lusaka route by Zambian Airways which last plied the route 27 years ago.
