Aviation (En-route Navigation Facilities) (Fees) Regulations, 2024
From 1 June 2024, en-route air navigation fees over Zimbabwe are US$0.31 a nautical mile times an aircraft weight factor, with a floor of US$31 a flight — and US$31 flat for training and recreational flights.
These regulations replace the 1997 en-route navigation fee rules (S.I. 67 of 1997) and take effect on 1 June 2024. Anyone flying an aircraft in the Zimbabwe Flight Information Region must pay en-route navigation fees to the Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority.
The fee is calculated as c = p x w x d. The pricing unit p is US$0.31 per nautical mile. The distance d is the shortest distance between the airport of departure or the point of entry into the FIR and the airport of destination or the point of exit. The weight factor w rises with maximum all-up weight: 0.5 for aircraft up to 15 000kg, 1.0 for 15 001 to 35 000kg, 1.5 for 35 001 to 65 000kg, 2.0 for 65 001 to 100 000kg, 2.5 for 100 001 to 200 000kg, and 4.0 above 200 000kg. Whatever the formula produces, a minimum of US$31 applies per flight.
Flights flown solely for recreation — gliding, parachuting, ballooning — or for training, including instrument training, general flying and circuits, pay a flat US$31 per flight, whether the aircraft is Zimbabwe or foreign registered. For a light training aircraft that is effectively the same as the minimum charge.
Fees are payable in United States dollars for foreign registered aircraft. Zimbabwe registered aircraft may pay in US dollars or the local currency equivalent. An aircraft merely overflying the FIR without landing must pay in advance.
Four exemptions apply: aircraft used by the Director-General solely in search and rescue; aircraft on test flights ordered by the Director-General; aircraft that turn back to the departure airport because of weather, technical or other hazards without an intermediate landing; and any aircraft granted a written exemption by the Director-General.
A worked example: a 60 000kg aircraft crossing 400 nautical miles of Zimbabwean airspace pays 0.31 x 1.5 x 400 = US$186.
What changed
- The Aviation (En-route Navigation Facilities) (Fees) Regulations, 1997 (S.I. 67 of 1997) are repealed
- En-route fee set by the formula distance x US$0.31 per nautical mile x weight factor
- Weight factors run from 0.5 for aircraft up to 15 000kg to 4.0 for aircraft over 200 000kg
- A minimum charge of US$31 applies per flight regardless of the formula
- Recreational and training flights pay a flat US$31 per flight
- Foreign registered aircraft must pay in US dollars; Zimbabwe registered aircraft may pay in local currency equivalent
- Overflights without landing must pay in advance
Who this affects
- airlines overflying or landing in Zimbabwe
- operators of Zimbabwe registered aircraft
- flying schools and training operators
- private and recreational pilots, gliding and ballooning clubs
- the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.