Fact file: Tawanda Gusha

 Chief executive officer at Airports Company of Zimbabwe

 Holds a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Zimbabwe

 MBA from the Midlands State University

 Graduate Diploma in Aviation Management from the National University of Singapore

 Joined the department of civil aviation as a trainee traffic controller and studied and qualified as an aerodrome and approach Air traffic controller

 Worked at the then Harare International Airport (Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport) as an aerodrome controller from 1998

will be going out there targeting business.

e tourism sector is looking at inviting tourists to the country. But at the same time while they are looking at one market, we are looking at an airline from a totally different market altogether. So we are supposed to have those linkages, targeting a certain source market together and identifying potential airlines that can bring those tourists to the destination. If we manage to set up that destination management organisation we will have a targeted approach to our air service and tourism development.

FM: Has this business proved viable?

TG: Between 2021 and this year we have read about a few airlines that have started operations, such as MacAir, which started operations in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. ey may be a small airline operating between Kasane and Victoria Falls, but according to their statistics in 2019, they carried over 200 000 passengers. at kind of linkage is what is required. up to 2002

 From 2002-2006 moved to Airport Operations as a duty manager

 Operations manager under the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe for two and half years beginning 2008

 Became a Regional Airports manager after a restructuring exercise from 2008-2016

 From June 2016-2020 promoted to Director of Airports under the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe

 In 2020 appointed Acting CEO

Company of Zimbabwe

 Has been in the aviation industry for 24 years

Added to that, we have had Qatar Airways, which also introduced flights between Doha and Harare in August 2021. We have also had Eurowings Discover, which has launched flights between Frankfurt and Victoria Falls via Windhoek.

FM: ese airlines.

TG: Fastjet has also increased frequencies and launched between Victoria Falls and Kruger Mpumalanga (in South Africa). ey are also planning on flights into Durban, which is something very positive. e latest addition is one of the local airlines called Kuva. ey are connecting Harare and Kariba and Victoria Falls. ey are planning to connect Hwange. We are hoping that overtime all these airlines will be connecting to Buffalo Range and Masvingo Airports.

FM: You mentioned plans to expand airports. What is the progress so far?

TG: e bulk of structural works at Robert Mugabe International Airport have been are mostly international