Zambia Airways (1964) (Lusaka) owner, the Zambian government, is still scouting for potential partners in resurrecting the now defunct national airline. Zambia's Daily Mail says Lusaka dispatched a delegation to Qatar for consultations with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) on how to best set up a national airline and establish Lusaka as a leading central African hub.
“We have visited Boeing (BOE, Washington National), Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and now the Qatar government to ask them if they can consider Zambia and come on board for the establishment of an airline and a hub. We want to partner with big players so that we lessen the high capital costs of establishing the airline," Zambia's Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, Yamfwa Mukanga said.
“The mission to Qatar was to see whether they can set up a hub here in Central Africa because our position is that if Zambia was a central hub, then everybody else will try to feed in and out of the country … it will be very good for us because I believe if we make Zambia a hub then transport and cost of doing business will be reduced,” he added.
In a bid to develop the country's lagging aviation sector, Michael Sata's government recently outlined an ambitious USD1billion plan to upgrade Zambia's four major international airports namely Lusaka, Livingstone, Mfuwe and Ndola International.
Government recently gave its blessing to Fastjet (Dar es Salaam) and its plans to set up a local subsidiary, Fastjet Zambia (Lusaka). Once operational, Fastjet Zambia will offer domestic flights before expanding regionally.
