Air Zimbabwe is the national airline of Zimbabwe and based at Harare International Airport .

Code Data

• IATA Code: UM
• ICAO Code: AZW
• Callsign: Air Zimbabwe

History

Air Zimbabwe began in 1967 as Air Rhodesia after Central African Airways Corporation was dissolved. It became Air Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in 1978 and then Air Zimbabwe in 1980 when the Republic of Zimbabwe gained independence. Air Zimbabwe took over the freight airline Affretair in 1983. It was privatised in 1997. The initial fleet of 4 Boeing 707, 2 Vickers Viscount and Douglas DC-3 aircraft was phased out in the 1980’s and replaced with 2 Boeing 767 and 3 Boeing 737 aircraft. A British Aerospace BAe 146 was added to the fleet from the airforce in the 1980’s. Fokker 50s were used for a while and the BAe 146 has been grounded for some time.

In 2003 it was reported that Air Zimbabwe had been surviving on a shoe string budget and at the mercy of local and international banks. In February 2004 it was reported that Air Zimbabwe had been temporarily suspended by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) over unpaid debt. In November 2004 a Harare to Beijing service was started.

Services

Air Zimbabwe currently (at March 2005) serves the following destinations:

• Domestic: Bulawayo, Harare and Victoria Falls
• Regional: Blantyre, Dar Es Salaam, Johannesburg, Lilongwe, Lumumbashi, Lusaka, Mauritius and Nairobi
• International: Beijing, Dubai and London.

Fleet

The Air Zimbabwe fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2005):

• 2 Boeing 767-200ER
• 2 Boeing 737-200

External Links

• Air Zimbabwe
• Air Zimbabwe Fleet Detail
• Air Zimbabwe Passenger Opinions