It is the largest airport in the country and serves as the base of Air Zimbabwe, the national flag carrier.

Later the same year, an Airfield Construction Unit was formed to undertake an extensive search for a suitable site for a national airport.

[citation needed] In 1949, the government purchased Kentucky and Adair farms east of Salisbury (2,700 acres at a cost of £54,000) for the construction of the new airport.

[citation needed] In 1951 the government announced that the airport would be developed as a joint user aerodrome for both civil aviation and the Southern Rhodesian Air Force (SRAF).

Formerly British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Swissair, Qantas and Air France all served Harare International Airport for many years.