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Zambia to Have National Airline Next Year 2013
Government says the country will have a national airline in place before the UNWTO general assembly to be co-hosted be Zambia and Zimbabwe next year.
Transport, Communication, Works and Supply Minister Chris Yaluma told parliament this morning when he delivered a ministerial policy statement.
Mr Yaluma told the house that government intends to establish the national airline which will be the nation’s flag carrier.
He said his ministry has been actively consulting and engaging various stakeholders to see how this vision can be realised.
And Mr Yaluma says his ministry is optimistic that the blacklist imposed on Zambian planes from flying in the European airspace will be lifted.
He says the European Union has given Zambia three million Euros under the European Development Fund to go towards putting in place measures to address the concerns that necessitated the blacklist of Zambian planes.
The Minister adds that the International Civil Aviation Organisation coordinated validation mission team is expected in the country from the 12th to 15th of December 2012 to come and verify the extent to which Zambia has improved in the areas that necessitated the ban.
Posted by
sifunthe
December 7, 2012 at 2:25 pm
an airline is very important in the aviation industry.as much as it will under the GOVT, let it run like a private company.
Samraffs
December 7, 2012 at 2:37 pm
At last!!…yaluma 4 vice president n kambwili president 4 2016…
ii
December 7, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Remember zambia airways,the hole plane used to have ppl travling on 10% (staff and friends and family) how can one run a company like that…pls save tax payers money and shalve the idea!
Fropilot
December 8, 2012 at 9:36 am
That is nonsense. There was a never a time when a passenger with a fully paid ticket was left behind to accommodate a staff member, however staff members on company business holding S1 tickets and who are booked are treated the same way as a paying passenger. This is normal airline business. The problem was appointment of managers like Kaoma. Zambia airways had more assets than liabilities when it was liquidated. It was in better financial position than Kenya Airways.
Pilot
December 8, 2012 at 7:33 pm
It is interesting to see how people attribute the demise of Zambia Airways to its Staff. Those of us who worked at the Airline know that the real cause of the demise of the National carrier was interference from the Politicians. I remember one time when a Minister who was seeing off some foreign visitors recalled the Captain of a Mauritius bound QZ flight halfway into the flight to Mauritius to turn back and pick up his visitors. On the issue of the 10 % rebate on Staff ticket anyone who knows anything about Aviation will tell you that this is an International Air Transport Association (IATA) resolution signed by all member airlines to award their staff and other Airline Staff free or rebated tickets on a Space Available basis. In other words if the flight is full with full paying passengers then the Staff member will be off loaded even if he or she is already seated on board. In addition there is a limit on how many of these tickets one is entitled to and during peak season all rebated travel is suspended. This is an Industry norm applicable to all IATA member Airlines including some of the profitable airlines like Ethiopian etc.The other cause of the Company being forced to close was the poor management that was in place at the Company but again the management’s hands were tied as Politicians run the show. What needs to happen is that the Government has to find a strong equity partner who will run the Company while Government holds shares in the venture as was the case with Kenya Airways / KLM and there should be no interference as the Company will be run as a proper business. Government’s role will be to facilitate a conducive and enabling environment for the success of the National carrier. It is an open secret that some MMD ministers thought they could start new Airlines where they could be share holders but as we all know the Airline Business is very capital intensive and so they failed to achieve their goals. Zambian Express was one of those new private airlines set up but even it failed due to Political interference. As soon as QZ closed down SAA, British Airways and other carries filled up the void. I can go on and on but in short QZ should have just been reorganised and re-capitalised. The liquidator took over 15 years to wind up the affairs of the Company as they found it had more assets than liabilities and in the process the Liquidator made millions of Dollars in fees while former employees were paid peanuts and lost their pensions and life insurance policies as the Management of QZ had decided to default in payment of Premiums to ZSIC despite deducting money from workers salaries every month. Are we suggesting that no country should have a National Airline? By the way at the time of the closure of the Airline we had over 100 very skilled Pilots who were trained with Tax Payers money as in other professions and at the moment the majority of us have relocated to other countries were our expertise is valued and we are contributing to other “National Airlines” because we have no jobs back home. These other countries are benefiting from our vast experience. We are ready to come home and contribute to the new National Carrier. Properly run Companies like Pro-Flight are successful because they are run as businesses without interference.
OS
December 7, 2012 at 2:45 pm
OH ,I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THAT. HOW I WISH TO SEE AN INT.AIRPORT OF OT INT AIRPORT IN SA ,BOLE INT AP IN ETHIOPIA AND MANY MORE BEFITTING INT STANDARDS HERE AT HOME. I AM HOPEFUL WITH PF THOUGH.
mk
December 7, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Down the drain goes the taxpayers money.
OS
December 7, 2012 at 2:54 pm
If others failed it does not mean everybody will be failing. Actually clossing it was not a good idea .@ii know that it was purely about management and this is modern Zambia where we’ve become more business minded than those days. Yes,our ntn pride!
kakolwe
December 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Malawi just filed for voluntary liqidation of its National Airline this morning. If we have an airline in which govt own 51% shares, it might work. A wholy owned national carrier will just be a shopping bus for ministers’ strumpets & children.
gayman
December 7, 2012 at 3:55 pm
@ii, are you a zambian or not? how can you oppose to such an idea? i do understand and agree with your point though because even i do remember those who worked at zambia airways really exploited the system by giving themselves massive discounts. I think this was too much. If this idea goes ahead and i hope it does, such fringe benefits should be looked at seriously. Yes staff should have benefits but not ones that would have such an impact on the company’s continual survival.
Natiional airline in zambia??? i think this is a brilliant idea. Its one that people will forever be thank ful for and hats off to our charismatic president HE MCS. i CANT WAIT
gayman
December 7, 2012 at 3:57 pm
I hope the aircraft will be called Nkwazi. the zambian flag looks so cool on the tail of the plane wow!!!
Rod
December 7, 2012 at 5:12 pm
Hope it shall be a private owned national airline. Government can’t run it. Some of us know how Zambia Airways was run and totally abused by the government.
james
December 7, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Can’t even manage the water supply how is zambia going manage an airline?
Wanu Ngwee
December 7, 2012 at 8:45 pm
BUT WHAT ARE THESE “AREAS” THAT NECESSITATED THE BAN?
chimps
December 7, 2012 at 11:53 pm
YES WE NEED OUR OWN FLAG CARRIER, FOR INTERNATIONAL IDENTITY. YOUNG PIPO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT WE ONCE HAD EVEN A BIG NKWAZI PLANE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL COLOURS AND THEN MMD CLOSED IT. BRIG MIYANDA WAS EVEN ANNOUNCING ON TV AND A YEAR LATER,THEY KILLED ENTIRE NATIONAL TEAM BY USING MILITARY PLANE AND WHEN THEY REACHED FRENCH AFRICAN COUNTRY THEY BLEW IT THINKING IT WAS AT WAR. .! VIVA PF BALANGE UMUPILA BESHIBE INTAMBI SHA NDEKE
Morious
December 8, 2012 at 10:08 am
The role of govt in a captalist state is to create a good environment for FDIs. Employment shud be created by private players through this govt ll increase its revenue through tax. PLIZ GOVT HAS NO BUSSINESES IN BUSSINESES.
Sunzu the tool
December 8, 2012 at 10:09 am
Epulogilamu
minoc
December 8, 2012 at 10:30 am
The issuch of air malawi is different in tht the government is failing to recapitalise the airline in investing in new modern plans. On the issue of discounted tickets all the airlines do tht but the discounted stuff tickets in most cases are for chancing. real customers r given priority over the discounted stuff ticket holder.
Kalok
December 9, 2012 at 5:16 pm
The politicians (aka Penza and friends) had a personal dig against the employees of QZ. They laid the groundwork by lying to the nation that the airline was being used by employees for personal, free errands. All lies! Those of us who worked for the airline could actually see how the political dribbling prepared for the liquidation of the airline. They even refused to accept a viable rescue plan that could have seen that airline survive and keep flying to this day. Anyway, that gave some of us the opportunity to live elsewhere where we are better valued than we were then in our own country!!
Air Mukwai_
December 10, 2012 at 2:20 pm
call it AIR MUKWAI
black man
December 14, 2012 at 4:58 pm
This is really funny!!
Phat Slims
December 10, 2012 at 7:27 pm
My fellow Citizens, let’s give the gvnt chance. Am very positive that the Airline will work out. The closure of Zambia Airways ws out of personnel interest to then the MMD, some people wanted to open there personnel airline that’s why Zambia Airways went down. Same applies to Zambian Airways, some MMD members shut it down to perve way for Zambezi Airline. The Bible says do unto others what you want them to do unto u. Where is Zambezi now? My only advice to the gvnt is the National Airline shuld not be run by gvnt full time. Gvnt shuld ve abt 40% shares & the rest privatize. Look at British Aways, its nt run full time by Gvnt its part private.
missy
December 21, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Hi everyone,kindly assist with info.on how much an air ticket from zed to india is(going and coming)
PROUDLY ZAMBIAN
January 19, 2013 at 4:05 pm
YES ,WE NEED OUR OWN NATIONAL AIRLINE, WE MUST SUPPORT THIS GREAT PLAN BY THE PF GOVT,AND WAIT AND SEE THE BENEFITS TO THIS GREAT NATION OF ZAMBIA. VIVA PF VIVA NATIONAL AIRLINE GO FOR IT !!!!