Aviation authorities in South Africa yesterday forced an ‘Italian national holding a South African passport’ to return back to Zimbabwe after a private charter aircraft he was using landed at O.R Tambo International Airport without clearance from the Department of Transport.
Although the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) was yet to give a statement on the matter, the Italian national was reportedly travelling from Harare.
In a statement today, the Ministry of Transport said the Italian national initially refused to return back to Zimbabwe until members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) intervened and the flight left the South African airspace at 1950hrs in its return to Harare.
“At approximately 12h30 on Wednesday, 1 April 2020, a private charter aircraft landed at OR Tambo International Airport from Harare, Zimbabwe, with one passenger on board. The flight was not cleared by the Department of Transport as required in terms of the current protocols in force during the lockdown”, reads part of the communication from the Transport ministry.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula has called for full investigations into the matter.
The latest incident occurs at a time when both South Africa and its northern neighbor, Zimbabwe, are expected to be adhering to mandatory 21-day lockdowns in face of the catastrophic Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic which has claimed the lives of thousands across the globe.
Despite the pandemic having its roots in the Wuhan Province in China, Italy is the most affected country with over 13 000 deaths recorded.
Zwnews
