Zimbabwe fuel shortage prompts flight diversions

The fuel shortage in Zimbabwe has worsened dramatically.

Motorists have long been used to going without petrol, but the main airport at Harare has now run out of aviation fuel.

International airlines have been forced to divert their aircraft so they can re-fuel elsewhere.

The crisis follows the decision of Zimbabwe's major fuel supplier to halt deliveries last week after the authorities failed to make payments.

The BBC Zimbabwe correspondent says an almost total lack of foreign currency means the country simply hasn't the money to pay for essential imports. Several airlines have also announced they intend halting flights to Harare because of a fall in passenger numbers.

Our correspondent says the economic crisis and the political upheavals of the past six months have crushed Zimbabwe's expanding tourist industry, with hotel bookings down eighty per cent.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service