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by pilots.
The national airline has been paying for their hotel accommodation while it seeks a solution to the industrial action and other challenges that would lead to the resumption of service.
Airzim acting chief executive Mr Innocent Mavhunga yesterday confirmed that passengers were stuck in China but said there were efforts to look for a lasting solution.
“The situation is that we have not been flying to China for the past two weeks. We have been accommodating the passengers in hotels and those whom we can re-route we are doing so,” said Mr Mavhunga. He, however, declined to give details on how much they were paying and the actual number of people stranded in Beijing.
“The cost varies from one hotel to another. I cannot say when the challenge will end because as you know tomorrow is a holiday the same with Tuesday. We are sure the shareholder is doing everything to assist,” he said.
“The pilots have not yet resumed work, that is why we are not flying.”
The cabin crew has said they will not return to work until they are given US$200 000 promised by the Government early this year.
They went on strike more than a week ago, demanding payment of their June and July allowances.
The strike has crippled operations at the airline, forcing it to suspend all flights. This is the second time within a month that the national airline’s cabin crew has gone on strike over unpaid allowances.
Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche told Parliament two weeks ago that Government was looking for a partner to resuscitate the national airline.
He said the main challenge was a poor balance sheet where overhead costs were more than the revenue.
The national airline has been leasing Zambezi Airlines as a stopgap measure aimed at maintaining passenger confidence but there were no financial returns from the deal.
The minister said it was prudent to retain passenger confidence by maintaining their presence in their routes than pulling out, something that would cost them more in rebuilding confidence.
derick.khumalo