Airfares for flights between Zimbabwe and SA dramatically shoot up

AIR fares for flights between Zimbabwe and South Africa - mainly the Harare-Johannesburg and Bulawayo-Johannesburg routes - have shot up dramatically during the festive season (Christmas and New Year holidays), with some airlines now charging an extortionate US$1 003 for a return booking from the capital for a one-hour-30 minutes trip. A one-way trip on that route costs as much as US$570, which is too exorbitant. This has disrupted travellers' holiday plans and family or friends' reunions. The airlines operating those busy routes include Airlink, Fastjet, South African Airways and Safair. Air Zimbabwe and British Airways (Comair) are no longer in operation. The average fare for a flight between Harare and Johannesburg, which is an hour-and-a-half long, is about US$350, but prices have doubled or even trebled in some cases. The current fares being charged are more or less equivalent to the price of a return ticket from Harare to Dubai. For instance, a Kenya Airways flight from Harare to Dubai costs US$766; Ethiopian Airways (US$867) and Emirates US$1 004.<br/>