Zambia relaunches national airline

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Zambia Airways took to the skies Wednesday for the first time in nearly three decades after the company was liquidated in 1994.

An inaugural flight took off from the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola, more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the capital of Lusaka to Livingstone, the tourist capital in southern Lusaka.

Transport and Logistics Minister Frank Tayali said the national airline was expected to run a fleet of six planes and aims to fly more than 700,000 passengers by 2027.

"The introduction of Zambia Airways scheduled flights is a bold step toward restoring our old fortunes. Zambia’s air transportation industry already provides great socio‐economic value," said Tayali.

Zambia Airways 2014 Limited is a joint venture with Ethiopian Airlines which holds a 45% stake in the company because of an aircraft leasing arrangement.

Tayali said Zambia was centrally located in the sub-region, is surrounded by eight countries making it a natural choice for most businesses and Zambia Airways was poised to be a manufacturing and distribution center.

Fears about different coronavirus variants hampering the airline's progress were eased when Tayali said Zambia had remedial measures to ensure that the traveling public was not exposed to the pandemic.

Zambia has not yet recorded any cases of the omicron variant and the airline has no immediate plans to exploit foreign airspace.

With the launch of Zambia Airways, Tayali said Zambia anticipated an even larger growth in tourism as the national carrier would forge partnerships with local and international airlines as a feeder to tourist destinations around the country.