Investment and expansion plans by Air Zimbabwe are struggling to take off.The airline was due to take delivery of a 50-seater Embraer ERJ145 in January 2023. Theodius Chinyanga, infrastructural development permanent secretary engineer, announced the purchase of the aircraft at the time saying it was undergoing pre-delivery service. It remains unknown whether the country took possession of the aircraft in 2023. However, according to Planespotters, the airline only has one Embraer ERJ-145 in service, and it was acquired in May 2019. The other operational aircraft in the f leet of six aircraft is a 37-year-old Boeing 737.Routes served are between Harare and Victoria Falls, Bulawayo, Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam. An Airbus A320, a Boeing 767 and two Boeing 777s are parked at Harare International Airport.Plans to convert the B767 into a freighter were announced in May 2023, but it did not seem to be operational at the time of writing.Following a $153-million expansion of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in July 2023, the government has appointed consultants to oversee the re-merger of the national airline, Air Zimbabwe, and the National Handling Services in a bid to enhance efficiency at the country’s airports.In another development, there has been a new chief executive officer (CEO) si nc e November 2023, when Edmund Makona officially took office.At the time of his appointment, Makona was the acting CEO.According to a statement by the airline’s board of directors, Makona is a “top-notch regional and international aviation expert and consultant with over 28 years of experience”.He has an aeronautical engineering background, and is a rated licensed aircraft engineer, as well as an aviation quality, safety and security expert, and a a trainer at the aircraft engineers and pilots ground school.Makona has served both as president and executive committee member of the African Airline Association and is currently the ambassador of the Single African Air Transport Market for the southern African region of the African Union initiative to liberalise the continent’s skies.
