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Walter Muchinguri, Victoria Falls Bureau
THE government is in discussion with 12 airlines as potential suitors as it widens the search for a strategic partner for the national airline Air Zimbabwe.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Joram Gumbo said the search for the strategic partner is, however, not restricted to the 12 companies.
“Yes we’re talking to 12 possible partners for the airline but they could be 13 or more.
“What we’re looking for is a company that has a reputation and capacity to offer Air Zimbabwe the kind of support that it needs,” he said.
The minister said that empowerment issues that were previously raised had been settled by the clarity that was made by President Robert Mugabe on the policy.
He reiterated that the government was committed to taking over the airline’s $300 million debt once a strategic partner comes on board.
Air Zimbabwe urgently requires a technical partner to offer fresh capital that will enable it to, among other issues, acquire new more efficient equipment.
The airline’s current fleet includes Boeing 737-200 (Advanced), Boeing 767-200 ER and Airbus A320-200.
Meanwhile, delegates to the International Air Travel Association have called for a stakeholder approach to rein in challenges affecting the aviation industry in the country and in Africa that include high air fares, taxes and ground handling charges, expensive tourism products and high fuel costs.
IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, Hussein Dabbas said the current challenges affecting African airlines require them to adapt to their situation.
“There’s no single formula to these challenges but situations differ from one country to the other, what’s required is adaptation to existing conditions,” he said.
Air Zimbabwe’s acting chief executive Edmund Makona said that there was a need to implement solutions that have been identified.
“We know what we’ve to do. What we now need to do is to implement the solutions that we’ve come up with,” he said.
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