By Freeman Razemba
German airline, Eurowings Discover, yesterday flew its maiden flight from Frankfurt to Victoria Falls, becoming the first direct passenger flight between Zimbabwe and Europe since Air Zimbabwe discontinued its flights to London, the United Kingdom, in 2011.
The move is likely to boost tourism with
Germans and others in the middle of Europe now having a direct route to the
country.
Zimbabwe is among 24 destinations that
Eurowings Discover, a subsidiary of the large German Lufthansa airline, plans
to fly into the country this year and Victoria Falls will be its fifth
destination in Africa after Mombasa in Kenya, Windhoek in Namibia, Zanzibar in
Tanzania and Mauritius.
The German airline, head-quartered in
Frankfurt, has a fleet of 10 aircraft and mainly serves long-haul leisure
destinations.
Speaking during the launch of the service
in Victoria Falls yesterday, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister
Felix Mhona, applauded Eurowings Discover and the board and management of its
parent company, Lufthansa, for their remarkable leadership which has enabled
them to explore the airspace between Europe and Southern Africa.
"We are grateful to Eurowings
Discover, the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, the Aeronautical Authority of
Zimbabwe and the whole aviation industry in Zimbabwe for this smart
collaboration which has made this occasion a success.
"We have no doubt that visitors who
will patronise the Eurocentric wings will savour the splendid sights of the
tranquil, refreshing deep blue waters of the upper Zambezi, as they touch down
in this resort city.
"The magnificent city of Victoria
Falls, coupled with its amazing one of the Seven Wonders of the World,
Mosi-a-Tunya or the 'Smoke that Thunders,' welcomes you with openness and
generosity. The thundering, cascading waters down the Zambezi escarpment are no
mere natural wonder, but a depiction of the love and warmth of the people of
Zimbabwe and Southern Africa," he said.
Minister Mhona said Zimbabweans were elated
that this new scheduled flight has the ability to enhance connectivity from all
over Europe into Zimbabwe and specifically, into the Victoria Falls resort
city.
"This will greatly drive the
development of tourism in Zimbabwe and the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier
Conservation Area.
"Under the New Dispensation led by His
Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Cde, Dr ED Mnangagwa,
which seeks to grow Zimbabwe to be an upper middle-income economy by the year
2030, air transport plays a critical role in enabling this endeavour as it opens
and connects markets, facilitates trade and enables industries to link into
global supply chains.
"It is our hope therefore that, as
this new destination will be facilitating tourism, cultural and business
exchanges, economic opportunities will boom in this city and the
trans-Mediterranean people to people relations between our citizens will
improve," he said.
Minister Mhona assured Eurowings Discover
as well as other airlines of continued support from the Government of Zimbabwe.
"Evidence of Government's commitment
to supporting the air transport industry is abundant. The launch of this flight
today has coincided with the rehabilitation and up-gradation of our airports to
accommodate long and wide aircrafts such as those which the Lufthansa group is
endowed with.
"We are also working on substitution
of equipment to enhance passenger facilitation, modern check-in counters,
baggage handling access control and installation of modern navigation
equipment.
"Air transport, leveraged by robust
airport infrastructures as we thrive at our airports, is pivotal to the
economic growth of our country.
"The aesthetic glamour and attractive
splendour of airport infrastructure is a guaranteed nectar of tourism leading
to other positives such as trade, and regional integration. It improves the
movement of people and goods in a more cost-effective way," Minister Mhona
said.
The introduction of new aviation companies
in the market is in line with Government policy of backing away from
overregulating the air transport sector, which is a key enabler to economic
development.
The minister said he hoped that this will
have a net effect of reducing air travel times and improving access to a wider
marketplace.
"As Zimbabwe, we believe that
increased connectivity between Zimbabwe and other continents such as Europe is
mutually-beneficial. It is therefore paramount that we continue to enhance air
connectivity between Zimbabwe and the continent of Europe.
"As a testament to our commitment to
the open skies policy, the Government of Zimbabwe has been granting fifth
freedom traffic rights to non-African states. It is our hope that this will
bring about improved global connectivity for the country as evidenced today by
Eurowings Discover flying into Victoria Falls via Windhoek.
"The story of Zimbabwe's newly
conferred city and Southern Africa's Tourism capital, the majestic Victoria
Falls, continues to be told far and wide, reverberating into the ears of our
global citizenry.
"Eurowings Discover has automatically
become a player in connecting this city to more friends and new business partners.
We treat the introduction of air services by Eurowings Discover as a seal of
approval of our tourism destinations; as a bold endorsement of our Government's
ease of doing business and promotion of investment policies in line with the
country's mantra 'Zimbabwe is Open for Business'," Minister Mhona said.
The flight also signified a milestone and
demonstrated the resilience of the travel industry in the face of the Covid-19
pandemic.
"It is therefore heartening that
against such odds, Eurowings Discover is still standing tall by this
demonstration; wherein they are increasing their network by opening new
destinations. I am informed that Zimbabwe is Eurowings Discover's 5th and
latest destination into Africa.
"We also attribute this remarkable recovery
to growing passenger confidence on the current and ongoing Covid-19 prevention
and control practices.
"We thus, urge the Airports Company of
Zimbabwe to continue ensuring safety of our airports by adhering to the
Covid-19 guidelines. I also urge all in this sector to seriously embrace the
World Health Organisation guidelines and our domesticated regulations and
administrative precautions in order to curtail the spread of this highly
contagious disease," Minister Mhona said.
He said his ministry will continue to
support the aviation industry as it is an essential service which drives
economic, social and cultural development through the promotion and
facilitation of trade and tourism.
Minister Mhona said aviation contributes to
the national GDP and creation of employment, thereby contributing immensely to
the attainment of the objectives of the National Development Strategy 1
(2021-2025).
The event was attended by senior Government
officials and Eurowings representatives.