Air Zimbabwe

Air Zimbabwe loses US$ One million due to Volcanic Ash

News by Air Zimbabwe Gatwick

The disruption in flights would have caused Air Zimbabwe to lose nearly US$1 million dollars. This disruption in operations is due to the volcanic ash cloud that has engulfed the whole of Europe.

The European air space has been blocked severely due to the ash and dust clouds that had emerged after the eruption of Mt Eyjafjoell in Iceland. Around 400 passengers intended to move from London to Harare have been stranded on the airports due to this natural blockade in airspace over the whole continent. Air Zimbabwe has cancelled three London flights since last Thursday. With a return ticket to London costing US$1 169, Air Zimbabwe has already lost around US$960 000 from the 800 stranded passengers.

Besides the monetary losses that the airline has faced, the major concern is the stranded customers that are stuck up in London Gatwick airport. These are of immense importance to the airline and needs to handle them as soon as possible. Air Zimbabwe chief executive Dr Peter Chikumba yesterday told The Herald they had not received any communication from Europe regarding improvement of the situation. People are still on the ground and we have not received any formal communication on the weather conditions from Europe. “The situation has forced us to cancel three flights to London and that has affected 800 passengers from either side, Dr Chikumba said. He said the airline was not catering for affected travellers since the delays were a result of a natural disaster. It is not Air Zimbabwe which has inconvenienced travellers but we are, however, keeping our clients informed on travel arrangements, he said.

All efforts to gain an insight into the matter by taking information from the British embassy have remained fruitless. The embassy has not given any information regarding the matter.

The IATA has represented its discontent on the matter of resolving the issue of Air space closure. IATA director-general and CEO Mr. Giovanni Bisignani. “This crisis is costing airlines at least US$200 million a day in lost revenues and the European economy is suffering billions of dollars in lost business.

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