Bird strike coinciding with scheduled maintenan...

Bird strike coinciding with scheduled maintenance disrupts fastjet service

Zim Now Writer

fastjet Zimbabwe says a combination of factors has caused disruptions on some of the airline’s routes over the past few days.

Airline spokesperson Nunurai Ndawana in a statement said that “whilst the majority of flights are operating to the published times, some flights may still experience unintended disruptions as our operations and customer services teams work to return flights to our usual reliable services.”

The statement said that earlier this week, one of the airline’s aircraft was involved in a bird strike whilst on its approach into Harare, RG Mugabe International Airport International Airport.

The bird strike event coincided with one of the airline’s other aircraft being in scheduled maintenance which was planned in accordance with the approved maintenance programme, effectively grounding two aircraft.

The bird strike damage required an outsized replacement part which needed specialised shipping to Harare, fastjet says.

The part was fitted this Friday in accordance with the manufacturer’s approved maintenance procedures and the aircraft returned to regular service on the same day, Fastjet said.

Mr Ndawana said like all other airlines, fastjet has also had to deal with inclement weather at some of the airports thus further disrupting flight schedules.

He said the airline shall endeavours contact all affected customers and minimise the impact while ensuring that safety remains top priority.