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BELEAGUERED Air Zimbabwe has bought a new plane, an Embraer ERJ-145, bringing the number of planes owned by the company to two.
The post-Cabinet briefing yesterday reported that Zimbabwe has taken note of the delivery of an Embraer plane, which landed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday, shortly after the airline’s sole plane was grounded after it developed a mid-air fire scare on its way from South Africa on Sunday.
The acquisition of the plane is part of efforts to revive the national airline, Cabinet said.
Air Zimbabwe was put under construction in 2018 after it was diagnosed to be a failing parastatal.
The new plane is branded Zimbabwe Airways which is the name of a failed airline that was fronted by former President Robert Mugabe’s son-in-law, Simba Chikore.
Aviation expert Jerry Haas said: “The Embraer E145 will be branded to AirZim livery in the coming days and registered with CAAZ (Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe). Air Zimbabwe trained eight pilots in South Africa for the E145 rating. It’s expected to be in service for mid to end of May.”
