Zimbabwe Aviation Authorities Grant Foreign Operator Permits To Eswatini Air,Zambia Airways

By Wallace Mawire [caption id="attachment_105338" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Eswatini Air staff[/caption] The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) has approved applications and granted Foreign Operator Permits (FOP) to Eswatini Air and Zambia Airways, according to Firstme Vitori,CAAZ Public Relations and Communications  Manager. Vitori said that the permits  authorize the respective airlines to operate passenger and cargo operations in and outbound Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in  Harare. CAAZ Director General Dr. Engineer Elijah Chingosho said, “We are excited about the positive prospectsfor 2023 in line with the national Vision 2030 and guided by the National Development Strategy 1(NDS1) as we implement the government initiated Open Skies Policy, positioning our economy for more trade,investment and tourism”. Vitori added that finer details on the commencement date and frequencies of flights will be announced by the respective airlines in due course. 'We wish both airlines the best of success,' she said. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe was established in 1999 by an Act of Parliament, the Civil Aviation Act [Chapter 13:16], and took over the functions of the former Department of Civil Aviation under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Pursuant to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendations and best practices, the authority was hived off airport operations to a new entity through the Civil Aviation Amendment Act, 2018 [No. 10 of 2018]. In its new mandate, the authority regulates the aviation industry and provides oversight of aviation safety and security, development of air transport and provision of air navigation services within Zimbabwe. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe also advises the Government of Zimbabwe on all matters relating to domestic and international aviation. On the 4th of October 2022, at the 41st International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal Canada, Zimbabwe was elected as the SADC representative, into the ICAO Council under Part III category, giving Zimbabwe an opportunity to sit as part of the Council’s 36 member states, the highest decision-making body in aviation.