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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
FLIGHTS and passengers arriving by air have increased by more than 300 percent since the beginning of the year, raising hopes that good times could soon roll again for the resort town.
From an average of about two flights per day, at least seven flights are being recorded in recent months with a corresponding increase in the number of passengers being handled at Kariba Airport.
Flights dropped to a trickle starting from 2000, maintaining the trajectory for the past 21 years with the Covid-19 pandemic worsening the situation.
From a peak of around 150 000 passengers being handled at Kariba Airport, numbers fell to around 1 500 in 2009 before signs of recovery between 2014 and 2018 were stifled by the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant restrictions.
The coming in of Kuva Airline to operate scheduled flights seems to be the tonic that the resort town needed as flight frequency has increased significantly.
The airport handled nearly 400 flights in June compared to 51 landings and departures in January.
In an interview, Airport Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) Kariba Airport manager Mr Shupikayi Maramwidze said figures at the airport were increasing significantly this year.
“We are seeing an average of around seven flights per from a dire situation of one or no flight at all on some days,” said Mr Maramwidze.
“Our figures are increasing significantly. On average we used to have about two aircraft per day. This points to a significant improvement when we finally look at the year 2022.”
There has been an increase of slightly bigger aircraft, carrying at least 12 passengers compared to smaller ones that carry about five passengers.
The airport handled about 130 passengers in January which rose to around 900 passengers in May before recording more than 1000 passengers in June.
The coming on board of Kuva Airlines, to a large extent, gave impetus to an upward trend that began in March.
When the scheduled airline is fully established, there would be smaller feeder airlines from remote destinations such as Bumi Hills and Mana Pools among others.
“Some people came from Bumi Hills by boat and boarded a plane to Harare, but the ideal setup should be that of smaller aircraft bringing people to the airport to connect to their destination,” he said.
“It takes around two years for an airline to fully establish a particular route. We wait to see what will happen when people are now aware of an airline and its schedule. That is when we may start seeing the smaller feeder airlines coming in”.
There are indications that another airline is interested to service the Kariba-Bulawayo-Johannesburg route.
Online Reporter