SHIKANDA KAWANGA, Livingstone
A LIVINGSTONE-BOUND South African Airways (SAA) plane on Saturday failed to land at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone due to heavy rains experienced in the tourist capital over the Easter holiday.
The SAA flight 48 made several attempts to land at the airport but bad weather impeded the touchdown.
A passenger on board told the Daily Mail in a telephone interview from Johannesburg that the plane was eventually flown back to South Africa.
Davies Phiri, a resident of Livingstone, said after initial attempts to land failed, the plane was flown to Lusaka for refuelling.
“The pilot flew to Lusaka and refuelled then flew back to Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport and attempted to land again but to no avail, hence flying back to Johannesburg,” Mr Phiri said.
He said while in Lusaka, he requested to disembark saying he was Zambian and would connect to Livingstone by bus but he was told that was against air traffic rules and regulations.
Mr Phiri said that the plane had tourists going to Livingstone for the Easter holiday.
He commended the flight attendants and crew for their professional conduct throughout the ordeal, saying they comforted everyone on board and assured the passengers of their safety.
Back in Johannesburg, the passengers were accommodated at Southern Sun Hotel situated near Oliver Tambo International Airport and were scheduled to fly into Livingstone yesterday.
A bigger plane was to be used, to accommodate other passengers on the scheduled Sunday flight.