Budget airline Fastjet Zimbabwe launched its Harare–Lusaka route, with the inaugural flight landing in the Zambian capital on Wednesday.
The new route, which will operate three times a week, will be serviced by a 50-seater Embraer ERJ145 aircraft, known for its adaptability and ample legroom.
The launch event was attended by Zambia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Frank Tayali, and Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Joshua Sacco.
At the event, Tayali emphasized the need for collaborative efforts between the two countries to stimulate economic growth. He said:
So, this goes to show that we need to bring the two peoples together and that we can grow our economies. This does ultimately add to our GDP because Fastjet will be giving us something for the landing fees and whatever other attendant fees that the Zambia Airports Corporation and the Civil Aviation Authority are able to get out of such an operation.
The economies of the region are quite symbiotically intertwined and there is no need to compete, but rather to collaborate, so as Africans, we do have a role to play in terms of seizing the opportunities that the aviation sector has to offer.
Sacco said the launch of Fastjet’s Harare–Lusaka route would enhance trade and commerce between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Said Sacco:
We are very excited about this new flight system, which will bring our people together, facilitate trade and commerce, and the collaboration between our countries, and the collaboration within the region.
As you know that in Africa, we have a very high population, but very few people use air travel, and we need to move towards promoting more air travel that is convenient and affordable, so that we can move our countries forward.
Tonderai Mangombe, public relations and communications manager at the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, said the new route enables same-day business travel between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
More: The Independent
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