Flying in
Flying to Matusadona
Three airstrips inside the park and two private ones just outside it mean a light aircraft can put you on the ground in Matusadona without a boat or a day on the road. What is less clear is which scheduled services actually fly in 2026.
If you only want the answer
Charter flights land at Tashinga (700 m), Rokari (1,200 m) and Kanjedza (1,100 m) inside the park, and at the private Bumi Hills and Fothergill strips outside it. The park names Grand Air, Executive Air, Halsted Aviation and Mack Air as charter operators. Scheduled flights have been announced by several operators, but none is confirmed for 2026 and no seat rates are published.
The airstrips
The park's February 2026 information pack lists three strips inside the park. Its 2024 management plan says there are two operational ones, so the count has changed recently; we go with the newer source but do not say how many are licensed.
| Airstrip | Runway | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tashinga | 700 m | At park headquarters. The park says it cannot always take caravans because of the runway length. Prior permission to land from Tashinga. |
| Rokari | 1,200 m | Takes caravans. Guests are met and driven to Tashinga, crossing the Ume River by ferry. |
| Kanjedza | 1,100 m | East side of the park. A waiting area with guide accommodation and vehicles is being developed. Spurwing guests are driven 45 minutes from here to camp. |
| Bumi Hills (private) | 1,200 m | West of the Ume, outside the park. Nearest strip for Bumi Hills and Musango. |
| Fothergill (private) | 1,200 m | A five-minute transfer to Fothergill. |
| Kariba Airport | n/a | About 4 km east of Kariba town. Immigration for cross-border charters must be booked in advance. |
Runway lengths from the park's information pack, February 2026, except Bumi Hills (MV Matusadona travel information) and Fothergill (the lodge's own site).
Charter operators
The park itself names Grand Air, Executive Air, Halsted Aviation and Mack Air. Safari Logistics and Alt Air, trading as Tarazed Charters, are also named by Kariba tourism sources and by Spurwing. Charter prices depend on aircraft, route and positioning, and none of these operators publishes a fixed fare to Matusadona.
Scheduled flights: announced, not confirmed
The park's information pack says Mack Air would offer scheduled flights from January 2026, and in May 2025 VisitKariba announced daily Mack Air flights linking Lake Kariba, Matusadona and the Lower Zambezi. Mack Air's own site lists Kariba, Fothergill Island and Tashinga as destinations but publishes no seat rates. In July 2025 Tourism Update reported that the park would launch daily scheduled flights from Harare and regular ones from Victoria Falls.
Older announcements are less reliable still. Fastjet was reported flying Kariba to Victoria Falls and Harare from March 2023, and MV Matusadona mentions a Bumi Air shuttle at least three times a week; we could confirm neither for 2026.
Fothergill advertises daily seat-rate flights between Hwange, Kariba and Mana Pools in the safari season, and in 2026 offers free flights on stays of three nights or more. Ask the lodge what is included for your dates.
When flying makes sense
Flying straight into the park saves the boat crossing from Kariba, and for a houseboat it saves more: the management plan notes that a houseboat can collect guests who fly in, instead of making the five to seven hour trip from Kariba. For the park's Jenje bush camp, the only published package is a fly-in special for Zimbabwe and SADC residents, with return flights between Harare and Kanjedza included.
Something this page does not answer?
Scheduled flights to Matusadona have been announced several times and confirmed rarely.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.