An eye for an eye left the world blind: Mzembi shows leadership to resolve aviation dispute

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AIRZW
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No matter what you think about Zimbabwe. This African country is blessed to have a well-liked world leader in charge of travel and tourism with a realistic view of the future and a master of global geopolitics as a given.

H.E. Walter Mzembi told eTurboNews today: “If you recall one of the tenets of my UNWTO Campaign was Tourism and Diplomacy. Reciprocity, whether it’s in the application of travel advisories, travel bans, airline agreements, etc, is not desirable.”

Equally, if there is a need for restraint in invoking punitive action against each other without recourse to dialogue. An eye for an eye left the world blind. South Africa and Zimbabwe have the best of relations, and we should not allow bureaucratic compliance checklists to ruin our otherwise very sound relations.”

Mzembi spoke out after a recent incident involving Zimbabwe- South African Aviation Relations was resolved.  Minister Mzembi is respected not only as a powerful regional player, but as a global leader in the  tourism world and well-respected also in South Africa. He recently ran for the post of the UNWTO Secretary-General.

Zimbabwe yesterday cleared all South African Airways (SAA) and British Airways flights after aviation officials were able to resolve an issue. In return, Air Zimbabwe’s morning flight to South Africa was cleared as well.

Authorities are still working on license renewals, but this is not an overnight process. In the meantime, air traffic between the two countries is as usual.

Media reports on eTN this incident was related to a situation with Zimbabwe’s first lady may actually not be connected.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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