Zimbabwe Airways

The national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, applied to the State Procurement Board (SPB) in October 2016 for permission to acquire four B777-200ER aircraft formerly flown by Malaysia Airlines. Permission was duly granted in November of the same.[3]

Negotiations were carried out in secret, so as not to jeopardize the sensitive deal. Eventually the State put together enough money to pay for two of the B777s and one Embraer E-Jet. However, by the time the planes arrived in the country, Air Zimbabwe had deteriorated to such an extent, that it could not present a "credible business plan to run the planes on a sustainable, profitable basis". The government registered Zimbabwe Airways, which developed a credible business plan. The government created "Zimbabwe Aviation Leasing Company", which owns the planes and leases them to Zimbabwe Airways.[3][4] As of April 2018, Zimbabwe Airways is yet to receive an Air operator's certificate (AOC), from the Zimbabwe Civil Aviation Authority.[3]

According to Patrick Chinamasa, the Zimbabwean Finance Minister, Zimbabwe Airlines is 100 percent owned by the government of Zimbabwe and was created to facilitate the national aviation industry and to relieve the cash-strapped and financially ailing national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, with over US$300 million in debts.[5]

The destinations of the airline are being finalized, but are expected to include London, Johannesburg, Beijing and large metropolitan and tourist cities inside Zimbabwe.[5]

As of April 2018, the Zimbabwe Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:[1][2]

• Transportation in Zimbabwe

• Zimbabwe government buys Boeing planes, leases them to new airline
• Zim Airways Plane Arrives, Chinamasa Says It Does Not Belong To Former First Family