ort and Communications Minister, Christopher Mushowe said it was important that the House of Assembly approves the agreement as a matter of urgency to enable the airline to access the Far East.
He said the closure of the Indian route was hampering government’s efforts to tap in on its new markets in the region.
“The national airline needs to access the Far East by flying over India but it has been denied this because Zimbabwe has not approved the agreement”, he said.
Air Zimbabwe has been flying to the Far East since government to buttress government’s efforts to revive the troubled tourism sector under its Look East policy.
The closure of the Indian route sees Zimbabwe maintaining its position as Southern Africa’s most inaccessible tourist destination.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has in the past said with only nine foreign cities connected to Harare through direct flights,Zimbabwe was the least accessible destination in the region.
ZTA has said the country’s poor airline connection hardly compares with its biggest tourism competitor South Africa, understandably connected to 190 cities in 180 countries.
Other competitors include Zambia,connected to 37 cities in 18 countries and Malawi,which has access to 36 cities in 17 countries.
Mushowe’s proposal met resistance from Movement for democratic Change parliamentarians who said they were not consulted on the agreement but the acting Speaker of Parliament Kumbirai ruled in his favour- CAJ News.
Post published in: News