Airports Company Of Zimbabwe: Airports Underutilised

The Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) reports that the country’s airports are underutilised as they are operating at just 27% capacity. To address this, the ACZ plans to collaborate with Cape Town Tourism on a marketing campaign to boost tourism and increase airport usage. ACZ chief executive officer Tawanda Gusha spoke to NewsDay:

We are currently operating at about 27% of capacity. But it varies from airport to airport. At this airport (Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport), we are operating at about 47% of capacity.

But there are other airports which are operating at very low capacity. Capacity utilisation is an issue we have been working on to bring more traffic into the country.

The ACZ CEO stated that Zimbabwe is involved in the Zimbabwe Destination Program, led by the Transport and Infrastructure Development and Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry ministries, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. A destination management organization called “We Are Victoria Falls” has been created in Victoria Falls, with input from all stakeholders. Gusha added:

At its launch recently, we managed to sign a memorandum of understanding with Cape Town Tourism.

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We will be doing joint marketing with Cape Town Tourism, which is miles ahead of us. So we stand to benefit a lot from that. That is an opportunity we will take to bring more traffic into the country. We will increase our capacity utilisation in the airports.

He said ACZ plans to increase cargo traffic by developing horticulture and light manufacturing near airports, leading to the creation of a cargo terminal building at RGM International Airport.

Gusha added that by collaborating with aviation industry stakeholders and the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank, ACZ aims to promote air traffic into RGM, JM Nkomo, and Victoria Falls.

According to the International Air Transport Association, African passenger numbers will recover gradually, reaching 76% of 2019 levels in 2022 and pre-COVID-19 levels in 2025. Victoria Falls International Airport also plans to build a catering facility and airport hotel costing US$10 million and US$15 million, respectively.

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