British Airways has turned down Zimbabwe’s plea to reinstate London-Harare flights.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CEO, Karikoga Kaseke, confirmed the development at the Zimndaba London Investment Conference, which was held in London recently. "BA is saying that from their perspective, and when they look at their projections, they see a lot of potential for economy-class travellers but when they look at business-class possibilities and try to balance [this] with their business model, they are seeing the balance not working out,” said Kaseke.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism, Prisca Mupfumira, approached British Airways earlier this year regarding the possibility of direct flights between London and Harare. According to Kaseke, the airline is focusing more on business-class travellers. The route does not, at present, have enough business-class support to complement the undoubted economy-class possibilities. He said KLM, which introduced flights a few years ago, pulled out of the route for the same reasons.

BA declined to go into detail as to why it rejected Zimbabwe’s plea under the new regime which is ‘open for business’. “Our network is under constant review,” said BA’s spokesperson.

Kaseke said they are, however, continuing to engage with the airline to convince them that business-class travel would follow the establishment of direct connections. “This is the situation: we want to see direct flights between Harare and the UK – that is a must. I don’t know when [it will happen], but I think we are trying to talk to other airlines, and I’m sure we will see direct flights between the UK and Zimbabwe.”