Air Zimbabwe sued for not giving passenger vegetarian meal

May 25, 2009, 12:20 GMT

Harare - A Zimbabwean businessman is suing the country's debt-ridden national airline for 10,000 dollars because staff on a flight failed to serve him with a vegetarian meal as requested, Zimbabwean media reported Monday.

The daily Herald newspaper said Jayesh Shah, a company director, had asked for a special vegetarian meal on a flight from Singapore to Harare in September last year, but did not get it.

He demanded compensation, and when the airline failed to pay up, he took them to the Harare High Court, insisting that Air Zimbabwe had broken its contract with him to provide him with a meat-free meal.

The airline says Shah's claim is exorbitant compensation for any damages he may have suffered by doing without his vegetarian dish.

Air Zimbabwe says the inflight food is provided by a South African company and that it can supply special meals only if the food is available.

A parliamentary committee was told last week by Air Zimbabwe officials that the company had run up debts of 50 million dollars.

It has not been able to pay salaries for six months and wants to retrench half its workforce.

It also plans to close the numerous unprofitable routes imposed on it by the former government of President Robert Mugabe.

Officials said the airline had been stricken by the new coalition government's clampdown on state cash bail-outs.