Qantas stops selling tickets in Zimbabwe due to cash shortage

Qantas Airways told travel agents in Zimbabwe to stop selling tickets for its flights after IATA warned it’s getting harder to move funds out of the country, according to a circular sent by the airline to agencies. The carrier is owed a “substantial” amount by Bank Settlement Plan Zimbabwe, the system that IATA uses to transfer local ticket revenue to airlines, according to the circular from Michi Messner, Qantas’s regional manager for Africa. “We’ve been advised by IATA that the situation with the repatriation of funds out of Zimbabwe is worsening,” she wrote. The move is an early sign that airlines may be scaling back operations in the southern African country, which is battling a shortage of banknotes that’s forced lenders to cap customer withdrawals and seen retailers offer large discounts for cash payments. <br/>