Harare, June 28, 2011 - Air Zimbabwe has once again broken aviation records by transporting 13 passengers on one of its domestic routes as the crisis bedevilling the troubled national airline worsens.

Informed sources told Radio VOP on Tuesday that Air Zimbabwe ferried 13 passengers on one of its long haul planes from Harare to Johannesburg on Monday morning which has a carrying capacity of 203 passengers.

The airline was forced to service the Harare-Johannesburg route with one of its Boeing 767-200 aircraft which services Far East destinations such as China after Zambezi Airlines re-called its aircraft which it had been leasing to Air Zimbabwe after the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe condemned some of its long haul aircraft as unfit to fly because of old age.

“Things are bad here. We are making losses and this (flying) doesn’t make any business sense,” said a source at the national airline.

Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga refused to comment when reached by Radio VOP insisting that he was in a meeting.

The fresh crisis adds to the woes bedevilling Air Zimbabwe which recently grounded some of its aircraft owing to fuel shortages.

The airline’s disgruntled pilots and other staff members have deserted the airline to seek greener pastures abroad.