AIR Zimbabwe suspended all domestic flights Wednesday after its sole local aircraft developed technical problems leaving scores of passengers stranded in various cities.

Airline management grounded the Boeing 737-500 servicing the Harare-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls route after it developed an engine problem.

The airline’s engineers are not reporting for duty in protest of non-payment of salaries at time the struggling airline is also said to owe various creditors more than $140 million.

The airline was also recently forced to pull out of its lucrative London and South Africa routes over fears planes could be impounded by impatient creditors.

Parliamentary Transport Committee Chairman Blessing Chebundo told VOA's Violet Gonda that the government has largely contributed to the downfall of the airline.

He said the coalition administration was still to implement recommendations made by his committee which include re-capitalising Air Zimbabwe and overhauling its management.

"If you let Air Zimbabwe go down like we have witnessed with Zambia it is going to be very difficult to then come again and say we are going to resuscitate the whole institution, and yet we need it. It has to carry the national flag.”