Hosia Mviringi
Fly City Air, a Zimbabwean owned private air charter company has announced a launch of passenger flights connecting Mutare to Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Johannesburg at a date to be announced.
The airline becomes the first airline to offer air connectivity between the mountainous city and the rest of the world, since the then Air Zimbabwe-Rhodesia abandoned the route in the early ’80s.
Mutare’s Grand Reef Airport or simply the Mutare Aerodrome as it is otherwise known has not known scheduled passenger flights for a long time, making business and leisure connectivity to the border city a nightmare.
One could not ignore the excitement in the market at the sight of an introductory poster the company put out on social media to test the waters.
“What we are doing right now is to test the waters in a calculated market survey. We wanted to measure the market reaction to our envisaged project. The response has been exceptional and overwhelming. This has emboldened our resolve,” Mr Levy Gurajena, the Airline’s Business Development Consultant told Tateguru Tv in an interview.
“Our launch was provisionally slated for September 2021, of course all dependent on the market response, which I think is exceptional for now, and the timeous finalisation of regulatory formalities by the regulatory body, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ),” Gurajena said.
Fly City Air is launching a three weekly flight schedule that will operate return flights between Harare and Mutare every Monday, Wednesday and Friday making it very convenient for both business and leisure travel.
The passenger service comes at the most appropriate time in the economic life of the country as the economy is seeking to shake off the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mutare, as the regional economic capital of Manicaland offers convenient connectivity to the horticultural hub of Chipinge and the scenic Nyangani mountains and resorts.
Also Marange diamond mining and processing centres will now be connected by a reliable passenger service.
The airline is hopeful that the September launch date will be a reality given that only a few loose ends need tying up with the regulator.
“We are optimistic that at least by the third week of August we will have received the necessary approvals by the regulator for us to effectively start flying, then we can schedule our test flight before the commencement of scheduled flights In September”.
Mr Gurajena revealed, without delving into details, that all shareholders and principal drivers of the project are locals and that the company owns the flying equipment which is also very local in Zimbabwe and ready to fly.
The company will be flying the 12 seater Cessna Grand Caravan fleet.
The Cessna Grand Caravan, one of the most efficient work horses of the small aircraft family, was chosen for its practicality and flexibility given the size of the air strips targeted for landing.
This is an aircraft that can practically land anywhere, making it suitable for the application.
Mr Gurajena said they have been inundated by inquiries since they made the service public.
” The market response so far has made us to want to hasten our engagement with the regulatory authority for a speedy conclusion of outstanding regulatory clearances so that we make the September date a reality. The market can’t wait any longer for the flights to resume,” he continued.
Mutare’s Grand Reef Airport, or Mutare Aerodrome as it is popularly known has recently been upgraded and re-licenced, which make this launch very opportune.
For US$100 for a one-way ticket on a 40-minute flight, it remains one of the most convenient and safest modes of transport available to a discerning traveller.
The airline is geared to provide seamless connectivity between Harare’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport , Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Johannesburg using convenient light aircraft which is also available for charter services.
The market will be kept abreast of developments as the launch dates draw closer.
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