by Grace Chekai

The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) has announced that it has reopened all its airports.

In a press statement yesterday, the CAAZ Public Relations and Communications Manager said, “Following the approval by the Government of Zimbabwe on the measures put in place with the guidance from the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) for the safe resumption of air travel in Zimbabwe, the CAAZ has reopened all airports with effect from 10 September 2020 for domestic travel.

“Airports will be opened for international travel from 01 October 2020.”

The CAAZ Acting Director General Margaret Mantizha expressed gratitude over the reopening of the airports.

“We are delighted to welcome the traveling public and all our stakeholders back to our airports. A number of new measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of passengers, stakeholders and our staff.

“These include mandatory temperature screening and sanitization before entering the terminal building as well as continuing to allow only passengers to enter into the terminal buildings.

“Arriving international passengers must produce a negative PCR result conducted within 48 hours prior to travel,” said Mantizha.

Hungwe said the CAAZ will continue with its mandate of developing aviation in Zimbabwe in a safe, secure and sustainable manner.

Zimbabwe closed its borders and airports in late March following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government in June approved the resumption of the tourism sector, including boat operations.

Schools are set to reopen in phases, with all exam classes opening next week, on Monday 28 September 2020.

To date, Zimbabwe has recorded 7 752 cases of COVID-19 and 227 deaths.