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The Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) has disclosed that Zambia’s aviation industry performance has seen an impressive start in 2024 with a significant increase in both international and domestic passenger traffic leading to a recovery of 119% to pre-COVID-19 in the first quarter of the year
The Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) has disclosed that Zambia’s aviation industry performance has seen an impressive start in 2024 with a significant increase in both international and domestic passenger traffic leading to a recovery of 119% to pre-COVID-19 in the first quarter of the year.
The aviation sources revealed that in the quarter under review, Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) served 482,400 general passengers. This represents an increase of 20% as compared to the 403,478 passengers recorded in Q1 of 2023. This also translates into an appreciable recovery of 119% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. The highest recovery rate was at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) at 133% recovery and the lowest was at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport (HMNIA) at 71% recovery.
International passengers recovered by 116% with KKIA recording the highest recovery of 133%. HMNIA which mainly serves the tourism industry continued with a slow pace to recovery at only 55%, an increase of 8 percentage points when compared to the same period in 2023.
The notable increase in international passenger numbers was attributed to various events with many taking place in March 2024. Some of the events include the hosting of the Extraordinary Summit of the Organ Troika, Plus SADC Troika which was preceded by the Extraordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) & the meeting of the Senior Officials of the MCO as well as the Extraordinary.
Domestic passengers recovered by 133% with all airports surpassing pre-COVID-19 passenger levels. Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (SMKIA) recorded the highest recovery of 156% as the Lusaka-Ndola route was the busiest in the period under review. The positive domestic performance continues to be driven by the competitive pricing being offered by domestic airlines for flights to and from Lusaka.
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It is predicted that domestic performance will continue on an upward trajectory as a result of the opening of the Lusaka – Kasama route that commenced in March 2024. The continued hosting of various meetings in Livingstone by Professional Bodies has also continued to be a significant contributor to domestic passenger performance.
