THE national flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe, which is tottering on the brink of collapse, has on two occasions delayed its Bulawayo flights after one of its aircrafts hit a bird during take-off, resulting in a cracked windscreen.
BY XOLISANI NCUBE
AirZim spokesperson Tafadzwa Mazonde confirmed that the aircraft hit a bird on Monday morning while taking off at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo.
“It is the duty of Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe to clear off birds and other objects at airports and in this case, our plane from Bulawayo had to undergo a major service due to the bird. This resulted in us delaying our evening flight. A plane that had flown to South Africa had to go to Bulawayo after it had emptied its passengers in Harare,” he said.
“In the morning, we could not fulfil the 7am flight and it had to be delayed for two to three hours as we waited for the certification of the aircraft since we had to do a major service on it.”
Air Zimbabwe has been experiencing viability challenges — attributed to mismanagement, corruption and operating an antiquated and depleted fleet — which have resulted in flights delay and inconveniencing passengers, who now prefer travelling with regional and international airlines.
The delays have often inconvenienced passengers who would need to catch connecting flights to their final destinations.
Due to the bird ingestion, passengers for yesterday’s flight from Bulawayo had to wait until noon when the aircraft had been approved to take to the skies before departing for Harare.
