Celebrating limitless opportunities in the skies In the 2022 National Budget resources also amounting to $500 million have been allocated for works on the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport control tower project

Benjamin Chivandire Correspondent

Today, Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Civil Aviation Day.

December 7 was set aside by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996 as the day to recognise the importance of aviation, especially international air travel, to the socio-economic development of the world.

The adage, the sky is the limit, aptly summaries human endeavour to go beyond limitation. Seeing a huge aluminium bird whizzing past, and cruising at 800km/hr up to 13 000 metres above sea level, takes one’s breath away. With the air outside too thin to breathe and temperatures too low to support life, flying became the cutting edge mode of transport under the name aviation.

Today, civil aviation has become the engine for global connectivity due to its efficiency. It plays a key role in human affairs by letting people discover the wonders of the world as well as its cultural diversity.

Aviation enables people to appreciate the benefits of learning from each other.

Innovations are made possible through global travel and trade, and sharing of knowledge on education, food and healthcare.

It is this that merges the world into one huge global village. The aviation system is built like an ideal pyramid, comprising billions of dollars, millions of employees and dozens of companies.

The workforce undergoes thorough training and vetting processes before undertaking any duty in the industry. The head of this pyramid is the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

This organisation makes aviation rules that must be adhered to by all actors in the industry. It controls the number of flying hours of the pilots in the whole world, and certifies planes fit to fly. Even the food that pilots consume is controlled by this establishment.

In comparison with other modes of transport, air transport remains at the pinnacle. It is also regarded as the safest and most convenient mode globally.

Airlines say that it is a thousand times safer to fly than to drive, with the traveller’s most dangerous part of the trip being the stretch to the airport.

It is estimated that airplanes around the world make up to 138 000 flights a day, translating to 48 million flights annually, and transporting 5 billion passengers.

On average, only one airplane crashes for every 16 million flights.

In comparison, road traffic statistics show that about 3 300 people across the world lose their lives due to accidents daily. Apart from that, 20 to 30 million people get injured in car crashes every year. This means that planes are safer than cars.

Airplanes are built by people who are experts in aerodynamics and gravitational forces.

Air transport was the only sector that was, and still is responsible for the transportation of vaccines from various countries, among them China, Russia and India. Moreover, the transportation was organised, swift and effective, and met the overwhelming demand for the vaccines on the ground.

Millions of doses and testing kits are being airlifted to places around the world in a bid to combat the virus. This has seen some passenger aircraft being quickly converted into cargo ones in order for them to carry more doses.

Locally, the Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra has ultimately resulted in the opening up of the skies.

According to the Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ), in the last quarter of 2021, more than 15 airlines flew into the country. Notwithstanding the recent temporary travel embargo on SADC countries, which led some of them to temporarily suspend flights to Zimbabwe, aviation giants still regard Zimbabwe as a lucrative destination.

In a commendable development, the Government of Zimbabwe partnered with players in the industry, and provided the necessary support required to enhance global connectivity.

With Zimbabwe being a tourist destination of repute, due to its numerous attractions, the Government has committed to supporting the aviation industry, a move that will make Zimbabwe a regional hub.

The success stories of cities like Victoria Falls will be incomplete without crediting the role played by the aviation industry. It goes without saying that Victoria Falls is among cities in the world that reached herd immunity in the vaccination against Covid-19.

The importance of the aviation industry in Zimbabwe must never be underestimated, especially in the view that Zimbabwe is poised to become a regional hub owing to the country’s geographical location.

Part of the Second Republic’s thrust for economic development, includes prioritising an export led growth economy. Such a drive should be backed by an effective transport system in which aviation becomes the main actor in ferrying exports to designated markets worldwide.

This will also feed into the international trade grid.

Zimbabwe is part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and there is high optimism on cementing regional continental trade transcending to the globe at large, anchored by aviation as a major player.

Positive strides are being made to modernise and revamp operations in Zimbabwe’s aviation industry, one of these being the extension of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

More so, as Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube outlined in the 2022 National Budget, priority on aviation will be on ensuring that ongoing works on the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport are sustained to the project’s envisaged completion by June 2022.

Completion of the project will enable the airport to handle up to six million passengers per annum, thereby providing tourism opportunities and creating global synergies.

Over and above the radars being secured to the tune of US$18 million under the US$153 million facility for RGM International Airport upgrading, a total of $670 million has been allocated for procurement of pertinent communication, air traffic control equipment and information communication technology equipment.

Focus will also be on ensuring commencement of works on the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport control tower, with resources amounting to $500 million having been allocated for the project.

Furthermore, about $500 million is being provided for the establishment and operationalisation of the uplift catering equipment at Victoria Falls International Airport.

Air Zimbabwe is also poised to become a commercially viable company following the conclusion of the Scheme of Reconstruction in June 2021.

This was achieved after the Cabinet’s approval of the national airline’s debt assumption and its 6-year Strategic Turnaround Plan settlement of its domestic and part of its foreign debts.

Going forward, the thrust is implementation and execution of the airline’s plan to ensure that it acquires requisite equipment, routes network expansion, invests in appropriate ICT systems, and strengthens its competitiveness.

There are, indeed, limitless opportunities in the skies worth celebrating.

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