The government has announced that it is in talks with aviation stakeholders to re-establish the national airline Zambia Airways by mid-year
Yamfwa Mukanga, minister for transport, works, supply and communication, said, “We are on course and the national airline will be up and running by June.”
According to Mukanga, the government has recently engaged plane manufacturing firms like Boeing and other partners to develop the airline.
The Civil Aviation Authority Board has since been constituted to facilitate the re-establishment of the airline, and the CIA Board will appoint an executive director to oversee operations. The administration would also engage an equity partner so the airline can function under a public private partnership (PPP).
Zambia Airways was liquidated in 1994 after operational problems. The country has had no national carrier since, even though the private sector tried to fill the void but failed to match the standard.
Zambian Airways and Zambezi Airlines had been operational but both failed to reportedly make an impact. Currently, the only Zambian-owned airline is Proflight, which flies domestically and in Malawi and Tanzania.
By Nawa Mutumweno
