Zimpapers Logo

Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Business Reporter

LOW-COST airline, Fastjet Zimbabwe, is set to fly into Kariba and Hwange National Park from March next year further enhancing connectivity in the tourist resort destinations.

The two destinations would be connected from Harare and Victoria Falls.

The expansion and frequency of routes by international airlines is a confidence booster towards the country’s Open Skies Policy and growth as epitomised by improvements in aviation infrastructure.

To improve the country’s major aviation infrastructure, the Victoria Falls and the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo airports were upgraded to international standards, and both can now handle 1,5 million and 1,2 million passengers annually respectively.

The country’s biggest airport, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International, is also being upgraded to increase its passenger capacity to six million people per year.

On Wednesday, South Africa Airways re-launched its Johannesburg-Victoria Falls route after suspending services in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and financial difficulties.

FastJet Zimbabwe spokesperson, Mr Nunurai Ndawana, said the new routes are a testament to the airlines commitment to the growth of tourism and the sustainability of air services in the markets.

“These planned additional routes to the airlines domestic network will offer seamless connections for travellers from Harare and Victoria Falls to Zimbabwe’s top domestic tourism destinations of Kariba and Hwange, with scheduled flight connections using Embraer E120, 30-seater turboprop aircraft,” he said.

“We continue to demonstrate our commitment to the growth of tourism and the sustainability of air services in the markets we serve. The addition of these leisure destinations will greatly support our vision.”

The airline’s Zimbabwe chief commercial officer, Vivian Ruwuya, said flights from Victoria Falls and Harare will be supported with outward connections of Marc Air, South West Aviation into the Hwange National Park, the lodges of the Kariba eastern basin.

“Working closely with our industry stakeholders and partners, including the Airports Company of Zimbabwe and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, we continue to explore ways to further develop the domestic Zimbabwe flight network,” said Mr Ndawana.

“We are delighted to announce that our flights to Hwange and Kariba from our tourism hub of Victoria Falls and our Harare base will be supported with outward connections of Marc Air, South West Aviation into the Hwange National Park, the lodges of the Kariba eastern basin and the camps and operations in Mana Pools and the Zambezi.

“Marc Air with South West Aviation will be developing a new hub at Kariba along with their existing hubs in Victoria Falls and Harare to support these seamless connections to and from Fastjets services.”

The anticipated new flights will add into the airline’s current domestic destinations, Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls and further provide connectivity for international customers flying in from Johannesburg via Victoria Falls to and from Kariba.