OPINION: Who, in their right mind, would pay for an $85 flight from Harare to Mutare?

This is the million-dollar question. Would you really pay US$85 to fly just 265 kilometers from Harare to Mutare—a trip that takes less than four hours by car?

That is the puzzling question we must all ask ourselves following the recent announcement that Air Zimbabwe has reintroduced flights on this route, the first in 45 years.

While the move has been loudly marketed as a milestone, it is hard to see it as anything more than a flimsy public relations stunt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government—an attempt to paint an image of progress in a country where true development is glaringly absent.

On paper, it sounds modern and ambitious: reintroducing a domestic flight to link the capital with the country’s fourth largest city.

Yet when you scratch beneath the surface, the logic collapses almost immediately.

At a distance of just 265 to 270 kilometers, the Harare to Mutare route is extremely short.

By road, the journey takes about 3 to 3.5 hours on the relatively good A3 highway.

In contrast, the flight itself may take a mere 30 to 45 minutes, but anyone who has ever flown knows that air travel is not just about the time spent in the sky.

There is the time spent driving to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport—often 30 to 60 minutes depending on traffic.

There is the mandatory early arrival for check-in and security clearance, easily adding another 1.5 to 2 hours.

There is the wait for baggage claim upon landing, and then the transfer from Mutare’s Grand Reef Aerodrome into the city, another 15 to 20 minutes.

Add all of this together, and the total travel time can stretch to four or even five hours.

That is longer than simply jumping into a car and driving straight through.

Cost makes even less sense.

With fuel in Zimbabwe currently around US$1.50 a litre, a standard sedan consuming roughly 13 to 14 kilometers per litre will require about 18 to 20 litres for a one-way journey.

That translates to around US$27 to US$30 in fuel, which is less than half the price of a one-way flight ticket.

A round trip by car will therefore cost no more than US$55 to US$60 in fuel—still cheaper than a single US$85 flight with no car waiting for you at your destination.

For a family or a group traveling together, the difference becomes even more pronounced.

While Air Zimbabwe would charge each passenger individually, a carload can share one fuel bill.

In short, the economics are absurd.

Convenience also weighs heavily in favor of the road.

With a car, you leave when you want, carry what you want, and arrive directly at your door.

With the flight, you must conform to airline schedules, endure delays, and still pay for taxis or transfers on both ends.

The only possible attraction might be the novelty of air travel for those who have never flown before.

But novelty is not enough to sustain a national airline.

Worse still, in a country where people are barely managing to survive, this novelty could be exploited.

Zimbabweans, who are already stretched thin by an unforgiving economy, may be manipulated into parting with their hard-earned cash just for the experience of flying, mistaking this extravagance for progress.

This is where the real tragedy lies.

Instead of fixing what is broken in Zimbabwe—run-down infrastructure, collapsing hospitals, underfunded schools, and an airline that cannot even run its core routes profitably—the government parades the resumption of a route last flown 45 years ago, back in 1980, as if it were some grand vision of progress.

The truth is much darker: this reintroduced flight is nothing more than political theatre.

By trumpeting such a marginal and illogical route, the Mnangagwa regime seeks to create the illusion that things are moving forward under his rule.

But illusions do not put food on the table.

They do not generate jobs.

They do not make Air Zimbabwe viable again.

Even from Air Zimbabwe’s perspective, the decision is baffling.

The airline is struggling to survive, burdened by debt, old planes, and dwindling passenger confidence.

If management were serious about revitalizing operations, they would prioritize routes with genuine demand and economic logic.

Domestic routes such as Harare to Victoria Falls or Harare to Bulawayo, or regional connections to Johannesburg, Lusaka, or Dar es Salaam, make far more sense.

These are longer distances where the speed of flying outweighs the cost, and where tourists and business travelers actually need the service.

Instead, resources are now being wasted on a short, low-demand, loss-making route that seems to exist purely for propaganda value.

The irony is glaring.

Here is a government boasting about a short-haul flight while the vast majority of its citizens cannot afford basic necessities.

The same junior civil servant who earns barely US$250 a month is expected to applaud a US$85 flight he can never take.

The same teacher struggling to buy textbooks for his students is told this is progress.

Yet in reality, the only people who might use this flight are a tiny elite—government officials, diplomats, or executives whose costs are covered by institutions.

For everyone else, the car will always make more sense.

We must also not forget the environmental cost.

Aviation is one of the most carbon-intensive modes of travel per kilometer.

For a distance as short as Harare to Mutare, the emissions per passenger are disproportionately high.

At a time when the world is pushing for greener transport solutions, Zimbabwe is investing in one of the least efficient forms of travel for one of the shortest possible routes.

It is yet another example of how the government’s priorities are completely misaligned with global realities.

At the end of the day, this flight represents much more than an illogical transport option.

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It is symbolic of the broader mismanagement of Zimbabwe’s economy, where scarce resources are directed towards vanity projects while urgent national needs go unmet.

Just as the government diverts billions into lavish convoys, opulent mansions, and meaningless celebrations while hospitals go without medicines, here again we see the triumph of image over substance.

A responsible government would never encourage its citizens to waste money on an unnecessary flight when cheaper, faster, and more practical alternatives exist.

The people of Zimbabwe must be careful not to be fooled by this charade.

Flying Harare to Mutare for US$85 is not progress—it is a trap, designed to exploit both the ignorance and the aspirations of citizens.

For the vast majority, it makes no financial or practical sense.

And for Air Zimbabwe, it makes even less business sense.

The only winner here is the political establishment, which hopes to score cheap propaganda points.

But no matter how loudly they shout about reviving a route last flown 45 years ago, no amount of noise can disguise the truth.

Real progress is measured in better roads, better hospitals, better schools, and affordable services that actually meet people’s needs.

Until that happens, Zimbabweans should see this flight for what it really is: an expensive illusion in the sky.

● Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: [email protected], or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/