We see lots of reports of 'imminent' start dates for various foreign operators, not only on PPrune but on various aviation/routes websites. On many occasions it just seems to be people regurgitating an announcement that has been made by an airline regarding their intention to fly to the UK. But there are quite a few hurdles to overcome before a new operator can start. Apologies to those of you who may be familiar with all of this, but thought it might be helpful to summarize.
Firstly, Air Zimbabwe, like Iraqi Airways, is on the UK Safety List, so cannot operate here unless they use wet-leased aircraft.
Before any foreign carrier can fly commercially to the UK, they must obtain a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation. This is a safety assessment of the carrier, independent of the EASA TCO approvals, without which the airline cannot apply for a Permit to fly to the UK. The CAA publishes a list of all TCO holders on its website.
Once the TCO is in place, the operator can apply for a Foreign Carrier Permit, but it is a bit more than a rubber stamping exercise. The carrier's proposed schedule must be consistent with the bilateral Air Service Agreement between the UK and State of Origin (some ASAs limit the number of carriers from each side or have frequency and capacity restrictions). The carrier must demonstrate that they hold sufficient insurance cover and have a system to collect and transmit to UKBF Advanced Passenger Information (API). There will also be a security assessment of the airport(s) from which they want to fly. Depending on how organised a carrier is, these things can take quite a bit of time, and might prevent the operator from meeting their proposed start date, or preclude them from flying here at all.
So, yes, good to see positive intent from plenty of overseas carriers, and ACL reporting that some already hold slots, but until all of these other things are in place, they will not be able to commence flights!