Robert Mugabe owns new national carrier Zimbabwe Airlines – and it will be flying to London

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is a major owner behind a new national airline, which is set to be handed lucrative long-haul licences to London and the Far East. The move has been condemned by opposition leaders who say it would make Mugabe the first head of state in the world to own a national airline. Mugabe and his family have become "beneficial shareholders" in a new carrier called Zimbabwe Airways, reported The Financial Gazette, citing "multiple aviation sources". The airline is registered in the tax haven of Mauritius, and Mugabe's son-in-law, Simba Chikore, who has been instrumental in setting up the new airline, is tipped to become its CE. Chikore is currently the chief operating officer of ailing flag carrier Air Zimbabwe, which is saddled with debt and is barred from flying into the EU after failing to meet safety standards. <br/>