Air Zimbabwe to resume London flights via wet-lease deal with Spanish carrier
Air Zimbabwe is set to restore flights to London for the first time in over 14 years, following a 13-month wet-lease agreement with Spanish airline Plus Ultra Lineas Aereas. Services between Harare and London Gatwick are scheduled to begin on 1 July 2026, operated using Airbus A330-200 aircraft under an ACMI arrangement in which Plus Ultra provides the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. The deal, brokered by Chapman Freeborn Aviation Services, offers a regulatory workaround for Air Zimbabwe, which has been barred from operating its own aircraft into both the UK and EU since May 2017.
The route's return addresses a significant gap in direct connectivity between the two countries. Sabre Market Intelligence data shows approximately 190,000 two-way passengers travelled between the UK and Zimbabwe in 2025, with the Harare - London city pair alone accounting for around 108,000 of those journeys — most via one- or two-stop connections through hubs including Addis Ababa, Johannesburg and Kigali. Air Zimbabwe last operated to London Gatwick in early 2012, having suspended services amid financial difficulties, including the impounding of one of its aircraft at the airport in December 2011 over an unpaid debt. The agreement marks the third long-term ACMI contract Plus Ultra has secured with a national carrier in the past year, following similar deals with Air Algerie and Tunisair.
Source: Aviation Week