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14362341
21st Mar 2012, 11:35
Anybody know where l could get more info about the aviation agreement between UK-Zim. Considering that BA withdrew from Zim some few years back can another airline like Virgin (Virgin Zimbabwe-thats it!!) fly on those British allocations to Zimbabwe. If an airline like Emirates or Etihad started flying direct UK-Zim will that be British allocation on the UK-Zim bilateral.

Tableview
21st Mar 2012, 11:47
Bilaterals would only apply on direct or non-stop flights between GB and ZW.

Emirates already have a service to HRE but it would be the subject of an agreement between the UAE and the thugs that currently misrule Zimbabwe. No agreement would be needed to carry traffic from GB to ZW via an intermediate routing point.

In respect to your question, the BA traffic rights might still exist nominally, and until more recently Air Zimbuggered operated LGW - HRE. I would think you would need to contact the UK CAA and the CAAZ (00 263 4 585073 / 87). I also think you are probably wasting your time but it would be interesting to see the outcome.

I would guess there must be considerable demand for flights between the two countries due to the large number of Rhodesians/Zimbabeans who have been forced to leave their home country. However looking at today's BA and SA flights LHR - JNB, there are only about 20 passengers connecting to HRE/BUQ/VFA, and about 50 tomorrow.

14362341
21st Mar 2012, 12:10
All l wouldn't mind is a direct flight between UK and Zim.
Only 20 today and 50 tomorrow cause passengers are using Ethiopia,Kenya,Emirates,BA and SAA to get to Harare but it's just a hassle.
Like any government's duty, the Zim government tries to screw all its citizens left right and centre, even abroad.:(

Tableview
21st Mar 2012, 12:16
I appreciate that people use other routings than via JNB, I just used that as an example. If you have access to MIDT figures you can see how many actually travel between any given city pairs, for example LON - HRE.

You are right about governments screwing their citizens but ZW is run by a despotic megalomaniac madman who has subjected his people to far worse misery and deprivation than most others.

WHBM
21st Mar 2012, 12:16
As I understood it at the time, the principal reason (among several) that BA withdrew from Harare was it was proving impossible for them to transfer their ticket receipt funds out of the country, due to various government restrictions. No matter what the demand might be, or that London is the No 1 European destination from the country, if you can't get any of the revenue generated, what's the point of BA (or anyone else) doing the route ?

There is, of course, still a daily BA flight to Harare, the Comair franchise flies in from Johannesburg in full BA livery and BA flight numbers.

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