Emirates makes maiden flight into Zimbabwe

By Sydney Kawadza

EMIRATES Airlines made a grand entrance into the Zimbabwean airspace yesterday at a colourful event witnessed by hundreds of on-lookers at the Harare International Airport.

The crowd, including travellers and spectators, cheered as the Airbus 330-200 touched down shortly after 4pm. The atmosphere became more ecstatic as the jumbo jet taxied into the terminal through the traditional water cannon salute.

The passing of an airplane through the water jets is part of aviation tradition to welcome a new airline into the host country. The airline will ply the Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

At the airport to welcome the new airline into Zimbabwe were Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Minister Tapiwa Mashakada, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr David Chawota, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke and several senior Government officials and business leaders.

Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche was part of the passengers on the airline’s final leg from Lusaka, Zambia.

He was accompanied by Emirates divisional senior vice president (revenue optimisation and distribution) Mr Nabil Ahmad Sultan Almurr and senior vice president (commercial operations) Mr Jean Luc Grillet.

Minister Goche described the inaugural flight as a historic event in Zimbabwean aviation. “It is the first time that a passenger airline from the Middle East is landing in Zimbabwe, thereby establishing a direct service between Zimbabwe and that region.

“This is also historic for Emirates Airlines, in terms of becoming the first passenger airline from the Middle East to land in Zimbabwe after its cargo arm operated briefly to Harare sometime in 2004.”

He said Emirates flights into Zimbabwe give the country a chance to host a “truly global airline, with an extensive global network, huge fleet and great reputation for quality service”.

Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines which flies to 22 destinations in Africa, will connect Zambia and Zimbabwe to key European markets, the Far East, Australasia and the Indian sub-continent.

Minister Goche said Emirates flights into Zimbabwe had given positive signals to other airlines to consider the country as a commercially viable destination.

“We therefore view the coming of Emirates Airlines as the beginning of many good things to come to Zimbabwe and a catalyst for the growth of international tourism and trade.”

He said Emirates will bring greater connectivity, capacity and fare competitiveness, which will certainly lead to traffic growth into Zimbabwe. Minister Mzembi said Emirates flights into Zimbabwe will increase the country’s tourism prospects and boost growth.

“Two and half million tourists travelled into the country last year and we are projecting a growth of five million visitors into Zimbabwe, generating US$5 billion and contributing 15 percent of the GDP by 2015,” he said.

He challenged Government through the Transport and Investment Promotion Ministries to open up more channels to promote tourism in Zimbabwe. Mr Sultan said the Harare route was part of the airline’s 120 destinations in the world.

“The airline seeks to link Harare to the global market and will offer support to key export destinations.”

The Emirates flight departs Dubai in the morning, arriving in Lusaka around 3pm and connects to Harare where it lands at around 5pm. The return flight departs Harare after two hours and gets to Dubai the following morning.

The Dubai-Harare route is expected to support the import and export of a diverse range of commodities including machinery, textiles, clothing, electronics and pharmaceuticals. Imports are expected from markets like the United Arab Emirates, South East Asia, the Indian Sub-continent and Europe.

Exports from Zimbabwe will include vegetables, fresh fruits and flowers to Europe, Far East and Australia. Minerals such as platinum and diamonds will be destined for European and Indian markets.

Emirates currently employs 20 specialists in its city and airport offices while there are 87 Zimbabweans working for the airline across the world.