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Business Reporter
LEADING international airline, Emirates, yesterday announced that it will resume flights to Harare on October 1.

Emirates suspended the service in March this year as part of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 as many countries had also closed their international airports.

The resumption of flights comes as the Government has announced plans to reopen the country’s borders to people and traffic as part of measures to gradually relax lockdown restrictions that have been in place since March.

The airline also announced resumption of services on other routes such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in South Africa and Mauritius.

Zimbabwe has the potential to become an aviation hub given its strategic position in the region.

The resumption of services will expand Emirates’ global network to 92 destinations as the airline gradually resumes its operations while prioritising the safety of its customers, crew and the communities it serves around the world.

Emirates’ African network will also now extend to 19 cities. In a statement, Emirates said it will operate two weekly flights to Harare linked to its Lusaka service, which will allow passengers from the two destinations to connect to other destinations across Europe, the Far East, the Americas, Australasia and West Asia with one convenient stop in Dubai. Emirates said it has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of their customer’s journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air.

These include the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitisers and antibacterial wipes to all customers.

The airline has also committed to cover Covid-19 related medical expenses, free of cost should any of its customers be diagnosed with Covid-19 during their travel.

“This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until December 31, 2020, and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey,” it said.

“This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination.”