Tanzania / Zambia: TAZARA suspens border crossing for passenger trains!

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has announced that both the Mukuba Passenger Train and Kilimanjaro Passenger Train will no longer cross the border between Tanzania and Zambia with effect from 30 March 2020 until further notice due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The trains will instead continue to run within the respective boundaries of the two countries. This adjustment in passenger train operations is inline with the measures taken by the Government of Tanzania and the Government of Zambia in the effort to control the spread of the virus. However, freight train operations are not affected by this change.

The new operational schedules for the two passenger trains will be as follows:

Mukuba Passenger Train:

• The Mukuba Passenger Train will depart New Kapiri Mposhi as it normally does on Tuesday, but terminate and u-turn at Nakonde on Wednesday, arriving at New Kapiri Mposhi on Thursday. The train will run again on Friday from New Kapiri Mposhi to Nakonde, u-turning at Nakonde on Saturday and arriving in New Kapiri Mposhi on Sunday.

Kilimanjaro  Passenger Train:

• The Kilimanjaro Passenger Train will depart Dar es Salaam as it normally does on Tuesday, but terminate and u-turn at Mbeya on Wednesday, arriving at Dar es Salaam on Friday, early in the morning. The train will run again on the same Friday from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya, u-turning at Mbeya on Saturday and arriving in Dar es Salaam in the early hours of Monday.

The TAZARA Railway, operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), is a railroad in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with the town of New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province.

Coronavirus pandemic: Namibia to go into partial lockdown!

The Government of Namibia has announced that parts of the country will go into lockdown from midnight 27 March 2020 until midnight 16 April 2020 as a measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus. These parts include the Khomas region (including Windhoek), the Erongo region (including Swakopmund and Walvis Bay) as well as the towns of Okahandja and Rehoboth. Under the lockdown, people will not be allowed to leave their homes except for visits to pharmacies, food supply stores, courts, banks, for medical reasons and for physical exercise in groups of not more than three persons. All shops and businesses will get closed except those classified as essential or critical services.

Coronavirus pandemic: Lesotho to go into lockdown!

The Government of Lesotho has announced that the country will go into lockdown from midnight on 29 March 2020 to 21 April 2020 as a measure in the fights against the coronavirus pandemic. Only the following essential services will remain operational during the lockdown in Lesotho: health, security, special banking, grocery shops, pharmacies, water, power and fuel. Lesotho's borders with South Africa will be closed during the lockdown but those supplying goods will be allowed in at commercial borders.

Botswana: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks stops accepting all foreign currency as means of payment!

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism has announced that with effect from 01 April 2020 it will stop accepting all foreign currency as means of payment. Clients are advised to use local currency (Botswana Pula; BWP) and credit cards or debit cards where points of sale machines are available for payments. The public is advised to use bureau exchange service providers to facilitate foreign exchange services.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has the primary mandate to promote the conservation and management of Botswana's wildlife and fisheries resources including protected areas, wildlife management areas and several water bodies with fisheries resources.

src.: facebook/dwnp

Coronavirus pandemic: Proflight Zambia temporarily suspends operations!

Zambian carrier Proflight Zambia has suspended operations for 30 days due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airline will cease international flights effective from today, 27 March 2020, and domestic flights will not operate between 01 April 2020 and 30 April 2020. The airline plans to resume international and domestic flights from 01 May 2020 to Lusaka, Ndola, Mfuwe, Solwezi, Livingstone and Johannesburg on a very limited schedule.

"We hope to resume normal operations by 01 July 2020 but we do not know yet whether this will be possible. When normal operations do resume it is likely to be with very reduced frequency especially on tourism routes", said Proflight Zambia's Corporate Director Chitalu Kabalika.

Passengers holding an unused ticket will be able to use the full value of the same ticket to travel within 18 months of ticket date and all change fees and re-route fees will be waived. Those who no longer wish to travel will be allowed name changes on unused ticketed. Names changes will not be permitted on partially used tickets.

Proflight Zambia: temporarily suspending operations.

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South African Airways' Business Rescue Plan release extended to end of May 2020!

South African Airways' (SAA) Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) Siviwe Dongwana and Les Matuson have received another extension from lenders and creditors to publish their long-awaited business rescue plan to save South Africa's embattled flag carrier from liquidation. A majority of lenders and creditors agreed to the extension. In the request for a postponement, the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) pointed out that the uncertainty of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on South African Airways (SAA) and the global aviation industry as well as the need for lengthy redundancy talks with labour unions makes an extension inevitable. The new deadline for the business rescue plan is the 29 May 2020.

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Coronavirus pandemic: Air Zimbabwe has temporarily suspended all operations!

Zimbabwe's flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe, has temporarily suspended all domestic and regional flight operations with effect from 26 March 2020 until further notice due to travel restrictions imposed by Zimbabwe's Government in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The airline will operate a last return flight to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on 28 March 2020 "to assist returning residents".