Zimbabwe Thursday introduced new air departure fees to raise US$400 million to revamp the country’s airports.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, a state agency which runs the country’s airports, said passengers travelling within the country would pay a new departure fee of US$10, and those travelling outside Zimbabwe will pay US$30.
The fees, dubbed the Infrastructure Development Fund, take effect from Sunday, 1 May.
David Chawota, chief executive of the aviation agency, said Zimbabwe was simply copying what other countries had done, and needed the funds to modernise the country’s airports.
A decade-long economic crisis left much of the country’s infrastructure, including airports, in a poor state.
Chawota said six airports would be modernised under the programme, which has become urgent as Zimbabwe’s tourism industry recovers from the crisis.
More than two million foreign tourists visited Zimbabwe last year, earning the country almost US$800 million
