(3 minutes read)
· The re-launch of Zambia Airways has reached the 90% completion stage. It is expected that the board of directors will soon announce the revised date of launching the airline
· The plans to re-launch the National airline have been caught in delays
· The Zambian Government attributed the delays to the Covid-19 pandemic, which had seen national airports shut across the world.
· But there are reports that the government is currently working on the regulatory requirements, which are needed to fulfill before commencing operations
The re-launch of Zambia Airways has reached the 90% completion stage. It is expected that the board of directors will soon announce the revised date of launching the airline.
The plans to re-launch the National airline have been caught in delays. The Zambian Government attributed the delays to the Covid-19 pandemic, which had seen national airports shut across the world. But there are reports that the government is currently working on the regulatory requirements, which are needed to fulfill before commencing operations. The officials entrusted with the re-launch program claim that the project is 85-90 percent complete on all fronts including regulatory requirements. Almost all regulatory compliance has been done and the airline officials say that the new date for launch based on the progress will be made soon.
The new airline is a joint venture between the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Ethiopia Airlines and is meant to facilitate best practice knowledge transfer. Ethiopian is Africa’s most resilient and largest airline. The Government entered into a joint partnership with Ethiopian Airlines on a 55/45 equity deal in 2018. Zambia has had no national carrier since 1994 when the airline, Zambia Airways , was liquidated in 1994. Since then the country has not had an airline. However, the country has invested over US$1 billion in rebuilding its airport infrastructure.
