×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Air Zimbabwe to conduct internal safety audits

News
AIR Zimbabwe is set to conduct internal safety audits in addition to the one carried out by the International Air Transport Association

AIR Zimbabwe is set to conduct internal safety audits in addition to the one carried out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), acting group chief executive officer Edmund Makona has said.

TARISAI MANDIZHA BUSINESS REPORTER

IATA carries operational safety audits on airlines after every two years.

Speaking at the company’s breakfast meeting in Harare yesterday, Makona said IATA re-registered Air Zimbabwe in December 2012 following its suspension in June of the same year.

“In 2015, Air Zimbabwe will do its own internal audit using its own auditors and will come up with its own confirmation reports and this will then be dispatched to IATA,” Makona said.

“We will enhance IATA operational standards. Instead of the one every two years, airlines will schedule their own audit using the IATA standards.”

Air Zimbabwe was de-registered from the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry after the airline had temporarily discontinued operations and failed to conduct the audits which must be carried out every two years.

Makona said the IATA audits would take place in 2016 as the current Air Zimbabwe IATA certification would expire on June 13 2016.

He added that it was between 120 to 150 days before the expiry dates that the airline would have to schedule for an audit.

Makona said Air Zimbabwe was one of the few airlines in Africa which had managed to get the IATA certification “due to our human resource, skills and our asset base and also other airlines are coming to Zimbabwe to seek assistance”.

He said the board and shareholders were engaged on the company’s turnaround strategy.

Air Zimbabwe acting board chairman Eric Harid told a Parliamentary portfolio committee that the airline required close to $368 million to recapitalise its operations and clear debts, among others.

Makona said the Air Zimbabwe fleet, though aged, had not been fully utilised saying that the aircraft were still new in terms of utilisation.

Air Zimbabwe is currently flying the Harare-Bulawayo, Harare-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls and Harare-Kariba-Victoria Falls routes.

In the region, the airline is flying the Harare-Johannesburg, Johannesburg-Bulawayo and Victoria Falls-Johannesburg routes.