Zambian state-run airline resumes flights

LUSAKA — Zambia’s state-run airline Zambia Airways on Wednesday returned to the sky nearly 30 years after it was liquidated in 1994.

It has resumed operations after the Zambian government signed a shareholding agreement with Ethiopian Airlines in 2018.

Its Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 plane made its maiden flight from the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, the country’s capital, to the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola city of the Copperbelt province.

Minister of Transport and Logistic Frank Tayali said that the launch of the national carrier was a step in the right direction as the country strives to become a hub of the aviation sector in the southern African region.

He expressed optimism that the launch will help accelerate the development of other sectors such as the tourism industry.

The airline will operate at a frequency of five to six times a week to Ndola and the southern city of Livingstone.

The airline will initially operate domestic routes before introducing regional destinations in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the first quarter of 2022.