Two weeks after the European Commission banned Air Zimbabwe from the EU skies, the United States embassy in Zimbabwe has ordered its citizens and staff to stop flying Air Zimbabwe.

The ban was due to safety concerns after the airline failed to meet critical European Union and international aviation safety standards.

The ban which took effect immediately, was communicated in a statement by the US embassy spokesperson David McGuire, on Thursday.

“The European Aviation Safety Agency [EASA] raised some legitimate questions regarding operational safety that neither Air Zimbabwe nor Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority have adequately addressed.

"While we await a response on how Air Zimbabwe and CAAZ will address those concerns, US Embassy Harare has advised US citizens that embassy personnel are prohibited from travel on Air Zimbabwe effective immediately,’ McGuire said.

Due to safety concerns, the EU last month banned five African airlines including Afrijet and Nouvelle Air Affaires (Gabon), TAAG Angola Airlines (Angola), Med-View (Nigeria) and Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe).