Air Zimbabwe restart flights to Beijing, London

AIR Zimbabwe resumed overseas flights on Friday after resolving a payment dispute with its fuel suppliers.The airline cancelled flights to China and London last weekend over a debt thought to be in excess of US$1 million.President Robert Mugabe was on board the Harare-Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight on Friday as he travelled to China on an official state visit.

An Air Zimbabwe spokesman confirmed the Sunday day flight from Harare to London would go ahead as scheduled, with the return flight on Monday evening.The state-owned airline has struggled to stay afloat in recent years owing to old aircraft, poor management and declining passengers. A strike by pilots over pay between July and September this year cost the airline millions of dollars.Last week, ministers announced that the government was assuming Air Zimbabwe’s US$140 million debt to clear the way for talks aimed at finding an international partner for the airline.