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ZAMBEZI Airline Passengers Stranded
At least 50 Zambezi Airline passengers are stranded in Lusaka after their scheduled flights to several destinations were cancelled.
Among the affected passengers are those who were supposed to fly to Tanzania, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday.
The cancellation follows Zambezi Airline’s failure to secure alternative aircraft as the company’s own planes are grounded.
A Muvi TV news check at one of the named lodges in Lusaka found several of the passengers, whose flights have been cancelled booked there.
The stranded passengers told Muvi TV that Zambezi Airline has allegedly failed to find alternative planes.
Attempts to get official comment from the airline management through its corporate representative, Charles Tembo, proved futile as he promised to call back.
Posted by Editor
on October 28, 2011. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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walid
October 28, 2011 at 8:09 am
Are you doing this because of Emarates.please poseniko amano.
babe-with-attitude
October 28, 2011 at 8:13 am
People still use this airline? Their fleet consists of one old plane! At any given moment I would rather be stranded than fly zambezi.
That plane might just disintegrate mid-air!
Sparks Chimbwendembwende
October 28, 2011 at 8:13 am
Dora Chiluya is a share holder in the Zambezi airlines. Viva King “C” for starting the remote squeeze!!!
big jo
October 28, 2011 at 8:16 am
ZAMBEZI HAS DELAYS EVERY DAY!! THERE AIRCRAFTS ARE BEING SERVICED IN ZAMBIA,,WASTS GOIN ON,THIS COMPONY SHOULD BE CLOSED DOWN BEFORE WE LOOSE LIVES PLEASE !!!!
ChurchCareTaker
October 28, 2011 at 8:18 am
Passegers must demand for compasetion of any lose they may incure during their stay@Lodge n any los their businesses may suffer. Zambezi Air must b held resposible
matata
October 28, 2011 at 8:45 am
Iwe big joe, don’t infest us with yo inferiority complex.
So what if the planes are being serviced in Zambia?
Are u trying 2 say our engineers are not good enough for thejob?
VIVA NATIONAL PRIDE!!!!
Diasporan
October 28, 2011 at 9:14 am
This is the closest thing we have to a national airline, do you need assistance from GRZ or others?
Please Dr. Jangulo & co., increase your attention to the airline. We travel it frequently to & fro Lsk, we suffer delays,BUT, we continue to support you, so please Help us to keep the faith IN you by keeping Zambezi in the air and Improve it.
We are expecting great things from you.
VIVA NATIONAL PRIDE!!!!
kwindi kodjo
October 28, 2011 at 9:25 am
Not long ago one of their flights en route to Cape Town had to make an emergency landing shortly after departing Livingstone after a loss of cabin pressure. To make matters worse, some oxygen masks didn’t even come down as they are supposed to. The oxygen coming through the masks was tainted with fumes that choked passengers. I am shocked that this incident has been kept under wraps for so long. I emailed the post newspaper with details and even photos taken by one of the passengers on this plane but they never informed the public about this. Matata I would have to concur with Big Joe. This airline needs to be shut down. Their delays and cancellations are a norm and the safety of their aircrafts is highly questionable. Their fleet of planes is exactly the same model (737-500) that British Airways in South Africa operates so we can’t really talk about the age of the planes being a problem. Even if they owned 787 dreamliners, the problem with delays and poor maintenance would still exist. Our engineers may be good for the job, but in most likelihood they are under-equipped in terms of modern effective diagnostic equipment. I’m not hallucinating but speaking about things with detailed inside information on this airline.
shimaini
October 28, 2011 at 10:35 am
No worries! a national carrier is on its way.
Mungoma
October 28, 2011 at 10:42 am
babe-with-attitude, it is not correct to say that Zambezi are using one old plane. The company has been operating three Boeing 737-500 aircraft, which are fairly modern.
Running an airline is a very expensive venture and needs good capitalization. Zambezi leased all their aircraft, I believe, and the rentals for the type of aircraft they operate are not cheap! My suspicion is that the company may not have been making enough money to meet all their costs, including the rentals for the planes, and the lessor may have come calling, grounding the aircraft for default.
Zambezi Airlines is a Zambian company, even if some of its backers might be questionable, and it would be good for Zambians to support it and not throw brick bats at it.
Thomas
October 28, 2011 at 10:46 am
This can happen with any airline. It has happened with British Airways, KLM and many others. But the airline management must act swiftly to reduce the incovenience of their costomers. I think we Zambians should learn to appreciate something that has some semblance of being Zambian and encourage one one another to set up something Zambian. We will never grow if shoot each other down. Those who have travelled several times with the air transport know that this happens time and again..
expert
October 28, 2011 at 10:56 am
you pipo hv really surprised me, you are all speaking negatively about the only local airline in our country,we should rally behind it instead of pulling it down. this business has employed close to 400 pipo.wat wud happen to this pipo if its closed down?lets not post selfish comments but see things from a wider perspective. though zambezi has disapointed us here and there, i must say its not easy to run an airline, big airlines such as southafrican airways have also faced challenges that it had to take govt intervation to stablise. Lets have support our local investments.
Ndate
October 28, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Most of you commenting here have only been on a bus to our village,thats why your comments are so shallow,big airlines such as BA,KLM,SAA to mention but a few have all faced similar problems and have had to book people ino hotels as a way of showing duty of care,when are zambians going to stop bluffing.How does one even link this to govt squeezing it’s own citizens businesses.Think through your special paper two in upper primary.It’s just that we might lack modern diagnostic facilities and remedial measures,but the planes you are castigating are being used by companies like SAA.So patience please
sibz
October 28, 2011 at 4:19 pm
i hv bn an engineer at zambezi en very much undastand wat the problem z,the problem z nt the engineers,nor the series of the fleet,infact poeing 737-500 is nt an old machines,it uses general electrics cfm 56 engines,very economical en powerful. the problem z management problem,most of the tym delays hv bn caused bcoz of nt refueling the aeroplanes on tym,nt hvn fudstaff on the aircraft on tym.the solution z 2 bring in exparts 2 try en help manage the company b4 it dies
Gabriel Chileshe Kunda
October 28, 2011 at 4:53 pm
What happened to Zambian Airways is likely to happen to Zambezi. Airlines are a serious business requiring serious minds they are capital demanding and without capitalization airlines close down. You need highly skilled management yo compete favorably in the airline industry!
kamenga D
October 28, 2011 at 9:14 pm
That airline was politicaly formed,thats what greed can do RB the results of pushing zambian airways to close down,my God is fair.
Isaac Muke
October 30, 2011 at 8:58 am
FROM CONCERNED
One can not help but laugh and cry at the same time when reading some comments. Sheer display of ignorance and incensitivity is what I see in most of them.
Try and research before you mouth or put pen to paper.
Like the technology of the aircraft itself, the business is rather complex and rather sensitive to errors and very tied to proper timing in response to situations that arise.
A little hesitation in important decision making can have far reaching ripple effects and it takes time to recover.
Lots of reputable airlines worldwide have gone under and they were no fools.
What Zambians must learn is to support local companies and not pride themselves in being in the forefront to critize unreasonably.
Niyombo investiments must be applauded for trying to offer employment to those highly trained Engineers and Pilots who are the core employees most affected since December 4 1994 when Zambia Airways was unfarely liquidated.
Elaine Plant
November 24, 2011 at 5:56 pm
As a UK International Traveller to SA spending a lot of money and time holidaying there up to 3-4 times a year and promoting the Country’s Tourism as best we can with UK friends, we are totally devastated to hear that Zanbezi has bascially gone “tits” up!!! We have a trip booked to the Falls at Xmas, having spent a fortune on Visas, Vaccinations, accommodation etc etc, not to mention the £1,000 Zanbezi “robbed” us for, for our flights (sorry but we do feel robbed!) and just the day before this happened!!! According to their Terms & Conditions any flights cancelled will be fully reimbursed, ha ha fat chance, I shan’t hold my breath!! It’s discusting that customers have not been advised by email, we only found out by clicking on their website to add additional passenger information and seen the message “All Flights are Suspended”, we would never hav known and just turned up at the airport completely oblivious with then very little chance of getting an alternative flight. We are totally in limbo now and will have to pay out huge amounts again to another airline as I’m sure they will now all bump up their prices now this has happened as they know people will be desperate to travel. Any advise on how to get our £1,000 back would be greatly appreciated!!!