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national airline is incurring a monthly loss of US$3,4 million.
The national carrier has since written to Treasury see-king urgent capital injection to save it from collapse.
When The Herald visited the Harare International Airport yesterday, stranded passengers to destinations like Lusaka (Zambia) and Johannesburg (South Africa) were being transferred to other airlines.
Planes were grounded as pilots demanded payment of outstanding salaries amounting to US$10 million dating back to February 2009.
“The pilots were not getting full salaries since Febru-ary 2009 after they had entered into an agreement with management that these were to be paid later as Air Zimbabwe was facing serious cash-flow problems,” said a senior member of the Zimbabwe National Air Workers’ Union.
There was little activity at the airport and a few passe-ngers using other airlines were in the terminals.
Flights to the United Kingdom, Zambia and South Africa were cancelled, inconveniencing hundreds of passengers.
Flights to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls were not spared either and management scrambled to get people transferred to other airlines.
Management is battling to contain the strike and board chairman Mr Jonathan Kadzura met the pilots on Tues-day though details of that meeting could not be accessed at the time of writing.
Airzim has serious operational challenges and documents in this paper’s possession show that the parastatal is on the verge of collapse.
Towards the end of 2010, the national airline suffered average monthly losses of US$2,5 million, but the situation is worsening.
“The average monthly losses have surged to US$3,4 million due to increases in fuel costs against a decline in load factors,” read minutes of a meeting between Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructure Development Permanent Secretary Mr Partson Mbiriri and management at the end of last month.
Another such meeting was scheduled for yesterday. Cumulative monthly losses are worsening the debt overhang, currently at US$94 million.

“The company’s cost structure is too heavy since the airline is currently posting heavy losses on all routes. The cost structure was sustainable when the company used to carry about 500 000 passengers per year.
“There is, therefore, need to see to it that the cost structure reflects and corresponds with revenue inflows.
“The total wage bill amounts to US$1,2 million factoring salaries and statutory remittances. Due to our cash flow situation, the company is seeking an exemption from the Ministry of Finance to remit statutory payments.”
Recent fare adjustments by Airzim have seen passengers shunning the national airline, further compounding its woes.
Air Zimbabwe has since asked Treasury for US$11,2 million.
“Nothing has been forthcoming from Treasury concerning the request. The Ministry of Finance indicated that it is also unable to pay better salaries for civil servants,” the minutes read.
In a bid to turn around the Air Zimbabwe’s fortunes, management wants to lease craft to replace its Boeing 737s.