adminWalter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Air Zimbabwe needs to be guaranteed at least 12 passengers per day for it to viably resume flights to Kariba, and stakeholders have been challenged to come up with packages that attract more visitors to the resort town. Speaking at a tourism consultative meeting in Chinhoyi on Monday, Air Zimbabwe Kariba Airport manager Mr Shupikayi Maramwidze said there was need for concerted efforts to help pull in visitors.
“With a scheduled flight, Kariba Airport is the Zambezi Valley hub because there are feeder air strips which are dotted along the Zambezi River that feed into Kariba if there is a scheduled flight,” said Mr Maramwidze.
“We have a challenge that there is no scheduled flight. A lot of players are approaching the airport saying they want to introduce a scheduled flight, but they are saying give us 12 passengers per day then we will fly into your airport.”
Reliable airlines and frequency of travel, he said, was needed for the airport to be fully functional.
Most flights at Kariba Airport are from Kenneth Kaunda Airport in Zambia, including direct flights from South Africa.
Mr Maramwidze said there were long-term plans to relocate the airport to Musango Bay if volumes increased.
Kariba handled about 1 000 flights per month at its peak in 1997-1998, but it now barely manages 2 000 flights a year.
Mr Maramwidze said the airport was presently being underutilised.
“We did not change anything from that peak period,” he said. “The equipment and manpower is still the same. In case we have a boom, the airport is ready to handle any sudden increase in traffic.”
Tourism players in the resort town have been calling for the introduction of scheduled flights that could bring potential clients to their shores.
Air Zimbabwe, which for some time introduced flights into Kariba, had to discontinue the service after it proved to be non-viable.
Online Reporter