LONDON - For a generation of Zimbabweans in Britain, getting home has meant a change of plane somewhere: Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Dubai, Nairobi. From this week, for those willing to fly the national carrier, it need not.

Air Zimbabwe’s flight UM724 left Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare on Wednesday night bound for London Gatwick, the airline’s first direct service between the two capitals after a 14-year hiatus, The Herald reported. Gatwick said the first return flight left on Thursday 23 July, and that the route makes it the only UK airport with direct flights to Harare.

“The return of direct services between London and Harare after an absence of more than 14 years is hugely significant,” said Jonny Macneal, head of aviation development at Gatwick. He added that “the enthusiasm which greeted the arrival of the first flight was fantastic to see.”

The fine print

The route runs three times a week. Flights leave Harare on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays and return from Gatwick on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, according to The Herald.

The aircraft is not Air Zimbabwe’s own. The service is operated with an Airbus A330 wet-leased from the Spanish carrier Plus Ultra Lineas Aereas, which provides the plane, crew, maintenance and insurance, while Air Zimbabwe sells the tickets and runs the commercial side, The Herald reported. AeroRoutes, the airline schedules site, listed the same Plus Ultra arrangement when the schedule was filed.

The Herald put the aircraft at 302 seats, 30 of them in business class. Promotional fares start at £490 or US$495 one way and £675 or US$900 return. By the eve of the launch, The Herald reported, the route had 1,479 confirmed passenger bookings and more than 30 tonnes of cargo secured. Its Foreign Operator Permit was issued on 1 July.

The ministers on board

The inaugural flight carried a government delegation led by Transport Minister Felix Mhona and Tourism Deputy Minister Tongai Mnangagwa. A welcome dinner was planned at the Cumberland Hotel, and the delegation was due to visit Air Zimbabwe House in London and attend Zimfest, the UK Zimbabwe music festival, at the weekend.

Air Zimbabwe board chairperson Silvanos Gwarinda was not short of emotion. “For many years, Zimbabweans have looked up to the sky and asked when this day would come. That day has arrived,” he said, in remarks quoted by The Herald. “This is the moment we have worked towards, and prayed for.”

The wrong airport

The cartoonists greeted the launch with characteristic generosity. One shows an Air Zimbabwe jet parked beneath a “Welcome to Heathrow Airport” sign and unloading like a rural bus: chickens and suitcases strapped to the roof, women selling fruit from baskets at the foot of the stairs, a man in a red beret checking tickets.

The flights do not go to Heathrow. They go to Gatwick, 28 miles south of London, according to the airport. The rest of the scene is caricature. We cannot confirm the absence of chickens in the hold.

A second, older cartoon, whose occasion we have not been able to establish, has an Air Zimbabwe jet skimming the National Sports Stadium as fans dive for cover. “Looks like we’re running out of altitude, captain!” says the co-pilot. It is slapstick. The new London service, for the record, is flown by Plus Ultra crews.

What comes next

For Zimbabweans in Britain, the test of the route will be the same as for any airline: price, punctuality, and whether the bags arrive with the passengers.

For one week in July, at least, the sky that Gwarinda described had a Zimbabwean tail fin in it again.