Mugabe delays Air Nam flight

AIR Namibia suffered a loss of close to N$50 000 after one of their incoming planes was ordered to circle in the air while the airport authorities awaited the arrival of visiting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe’s entourage was expected to land at around 17h10 at Hosea Kutako Airport on Tuesday afternoon, but the plane arrived almost half an hour late. In the meantime, a scheduled Air Namibia plane flying from South Africa was told to either divert to Botswana or circle in the air.The pilots apparently informed the airport authorities that they did not have enough fuel to reach Botswana and would thus prefer to circle the airport until Mugabe had landed and left the airport.According to aviation sources, the delay cost Air Namibia nearly N$50 000.Air Namibia neither confirmed nor denied the incident.The company’s spokesperson, Ellison Hijarunguru, was approached for comment but had not replied by the time of going to press last night.In the meantime, a scheduled Air Namibia plane flying from South Africa was told to either divert to Botswana or circle in the air.The pilots apparently informed the airport authorities that they did not have enough fuel to reach Botswana and would thus prefer to circle the airport until Mugabe had landed and left the airport.According to aviation sources, the delay cost Air Namibia nearly N$50 000.Air Namibia neither confirmed nor denied the incident.The company’s spokesperson, Ellison Hijarunguru, was approached for comment but had not replied by the time of going to press last night.