Zambia Airways

Zambia's Government planned to relaunch Zambia Airways as the country's new flagship carrier, in late 2016. Zambia Airways was established in 1964, as a subsidiary of Central African Airways. The carrier operated on domestic and international routes for more than 30 years, until it ceased operations in 1995. Zambian Airways replaced Zambia Airways as the national carrier of Zambia, but later suspended services in 2009 citing financial difficulties. The Republic of Zambia sought to reestablish Zambia Airways, as part of a programme to boost tourism activity. 'Zambia Airways 2014 Limited', the operating name of the proposed Zambia Airways, was registered in 2015, and the Zambian Government allocated USD300 million from the 2016 national budget to start-up capital. Ethiopian Airlines finalised a shareholder agreement with the Zambian government for the reestablishment of Zambia Airways. Ethiopian Airlines and Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed a shareholding agreement in Aug-2018 to relaunch Zambia Airways. IDC holds 55% equity in the national carrier, while Ethiopian Airlines holds 45%. The shareholders contributed USD30 million in capital to the establishment of the airline.

Zambia Airways received an air operator's certificate from the Zambia Civil Aviation Authority in Sep-2020.

Ethiopian Airlines finalised preparations for the launch of Zambia Airways through a JV with Zambia's IDC on 29-Nov-2021. Zambia Airways commenced operations with six times weekly Lusaka-Ndola service on 01-Dec-2021.