Air Zimbabwe Chairman Ozias Bvute has allayed fears that the airline will retrench some workers soon.
Speaking at a Press briefing on Friday, Bvute said the airline has no capacity to immediately embark on a retrenchment exercise to improve the company’s efficiency.
According to Bvute, the recent introduction of the two Airbuses currently being leased by the airline had reduced the company’s operational costs by 45 percent.
“We are not in a position to conduct retrenchment. We have put people on temporary leave,” he said.
The airline had earlier taken a position to send its workers on forced leave until the company’s performance improves.
As part of its restructuring exercise, the airline, last month, sent over 600 workers on forced leave to rebuild the route network, offer professional competitive services on flights, increase financial return and build a strong passenger base for the benefit of all stakeholders.
“A skeletal staff complement of 307 shall be retained for operations while the rest of the staff shall be sent on vacation leave to facilitate streamlined operations and optimum use of personnel for the next six months, at which point the airline will review progress made,” the company had said.
Air Zimbabwe used to have 1,025 employees.
In a related development, AirZim which recently resumed its traditionally viable Harare-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls and Harare-Johannesburg routes, has been re-registered under the International Air Transport Association (IATA) following its suspension last year.
The airline was de-registered by the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry after the airline had temporarily discontinued operations and failed to conduct audits which must be carried out every two years.
“As an IOSA registered operator, Air Zimbabwe retains its IATA membership, meets part of the requirements to attract strategic partners with world class airlines, meets high safety standards while realising notable cost savings and operational efficiency,” the country’s Minister for Transport,Communications and Infrastructural development, Nicholas Goche said.
At the heels of this achievement, the airline have also sealed a deal with Air France KLM group, to ensure the aircraft have the necessary support. The contract includes access to the Air France KLM pool, with repairs at the time of flight and the provision of a Main Base Kit, located initially in Johannesburg, then in Harare.
