SAA Pulls the Plug On Zim Tourism

Posted to the web 21 July 2008 Ndamu Sandu SOUTH African Airways (SAA) is mulling routing its Johannesburg-Victoria Falls flights to Livingstone in Zambia in a major blow to Zimbabwe's ailing tourism industry, authoritative sources said last week. Standardbusiness heard that officials at SAA recently held a meeting with the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) where they announced the airline would no longer fly into Victoria Falls. Stung by the SAA decision, there have been frantic efforts to persuade the airline to stay put on the route, said sources familiar with the developments. To this end, officials at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority are keen to persuade SAA to rescind its decision in a last bid to bolster confidence in the ailing tourism sector. But SAA Country Manager, Winnie Mudariki poured cold water on the... [read full story]