Zambezi Airline has been grounded because it flagrantly ‘flouted numerous’ international and local aviation regulations. This was according to Mr. Given Lubinda, the Minister of Information and Tourism in a Parliamentary address yesterday.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Works and supply, Yamfwa Mukanga, Mr Lubinda said the airline posed a ‘risk’ to passengers as it operated outside Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) guidelines.
The airline according to Mr Lubinda employed air crew staff that had not been “cleared” by the DCA, failed or withheld without explanation, to report an air plane ‘fault’ on a local route and allowed pilots to work ‘beyond the stipulated work timetable’. They worked overtime.
Mr. Lubinda in addition said the airline that operated local and international routes flew with ‘faulty oxygen masks’, passengers are supposed to rely on in case of an emergency all against local and international aviation laws. It had to be grounded he stated.
The chief government spokesman, however said, in ‘six to eight weeks’ if the airline rectified all the ‘violations’ he cited, their suspension would be lifted and they could fly once again.
Chibombo law maker Mr Ronnie Shikapwasha, a retired general attempted to place Mr. Lubinda in a ‘tight position’ when he asked him to state for the record when a probe team was instituted to investigate the airline’s air worthiness and demanded a full report as an aviation expert with 30 years’ experience.
In response, Mr Lubinda said that he was not under obligation to present a report regarding the airline. Mr Lubinda candidly reminded General Shikapwasha that he too had not submitted a report (s) regarding an air plane Mr. Lubinda did not mention.
Mr Lubinda also dismissed opposition reports that the grounding of Zambezi Airlines was ‘political’ challenging those making the allegations to substantiate the claim.
Zambezi Airlines, which owes local and international firms more than US$20million, was grounded over the weekend. It became the second local carrier to nose dive in less than five years.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Number 1
I guess the airline was being run like bus company with a lot of corruption. Gov’t ok you have found out that there is a fault in the airline, so what the next step? Remember it’s 90 days of development not destruction
Lubinda busy Rumour mongaring…give us the full substatntial report!
you call ur friends liars n scott even said no tukachepas, but what is this u r claimin
Issue of faulty oxygen masks is very true. Issue of faulty planes is also true. Issue of Zambezi not reporting faults also very very true. After the incident on a flight from Livingstone to Cape Town involving a faulty plane and faulty oxygen masks and an emergency landing, can you imagine Zambezi staff discouraging people from telling others about that traumatic experience? This incident was never even published in the papers.
Do politicians stop reasoning when they get into government? Honestly, can failure to report a fault, faulty oxygen masks and hiring uncleared staff warrant suspension of an airline? Is this what the Zambian aviation law stipulates? What a government!
You are dull Yambezhi with no knowledge of basic aviation laws and rules.. DO NOT PLAY WITH AIR SAFETY.. You want to see 150 dead bodies first before you believe there was a fault??? The nature of flying is that there is no room for error or 2nd chance.. a mistake and the consequences are dire.. its not like driving… let not play politics with serious issues like safety…
This is no joking matter at all. That plane was just to waiting to fall out of the sky. Just wondering, do u ever watch Aircraft Investigation on DSTV? I would be worried if I were you
Mr.Lubinda your reason for grounding an airline are baseless and amounts to lack of leadership, These violations should have been corrected without shutting down an airline.Clearing the workers for the airline is under the Govt.Mr. Lubinda you have destroyed the tourism industry what a Govt?
nonsense . . . nonsense
Shikapwasha, please liaise with Ben Katanga Mwila to release the report on “an air plane” called “Buffalo” that went down off the coast of Gabon killing all our gallant boys.
Number 5 and 6 bushe mwafuma ku ma planets yambi ukwikala ama aliens? How do your brains function? Those are very serious issues that infact in many countries would warrant complete closure of an airline. I have flown on a plane which got hit by a bird in one of the engines just after take off and I know how it feels to fly on a plane you know can go down anytime. Why don’t you guys fly to the EU on Zambezi airlines? Why didn’t you organize a protest march in Lusaka when the EU banned airplanes from Zambia due to safety considerations? Nomba ba Lubinda balebomba inchito, imwe mwaia mukuchita trivialize issues. Are you MMD or UPND? There are no politics when it comes to safety of human beings.
well put GK@ 9 some of these people tend to be negative towards our govt without taking into consideration the implications involved, just to gain political milage
Thanks GK #9. In fact that is a sample of attitudes we have that have resulted in a lot of intolerable situations becoming tolerable. It is no wonder we see roads deteriorating, refuse piling up, buildings going into disrepair. This attitude of thinking we must overlook excellence until it is beyond comprehension (or repair). That attitude, unfortunately, cannot sit with industries like mining or the airline. Airline business is stringently monitored because its risk scenarios are usually worst-case.
What report do u need. This is common sense. The airline was being operated like a mini bus going to shangombo. Its high time. Actually it was an embarassment to nation. With there delays and cancellations people were missing important apointments even funerals. Bravo Government
This is political, I am an aviation expert. Where is the report for the investigation?
Ba fake Shikapwasha naimwe kabiyeni uko. Which aviation, you used to fly military jets which eject once they malfunction. There is no such facility on commercial planes. The report is yourself. You are the report ba fake Shik.
I’m losing faith in this government. One indicator of a useless govt is when after being in power for just one month, they feel as if they have been in power for 20years and have over-stayed!!! Everything is now suggesting that Sata and PF are even worse than Rupiah. Lubinda is trying to defend the indefensible. We now know, according to whistle-blowers, that Bob Sichinga has personal interest in airline industry and is creating opportunities for himself. The corruption in PF is terrible and people are about to find out that we made a big mistake to vote them into power. Just check the appointments that Sata is now making – unbelievable! Sata must listen carefully to what the POST have said to him if he wants PF to rule for more than one term. Lubinda must learn to shut up sometimes!!
#15 U AR A DULL CHAP, CHEAP MMD. DO YOU REALLY THINK. I BELIEV U HAV NEVA FLOWN BY AIR B4 HENCE TALKIN NOSENSE. WHAT DID MMD DO THAT WE APPRECIATE. WATCH OUT KOLOKOMBWA
Shikapwasha if you were an aviation expert you would just shut your big pie hole, you are lucky this plane didn’t crash on your watch…this flouting of aviation rules is a criminal offence and directors of that company would be in court facing negligence charges and endangering lives of passengers in the west. The government or Africa needs to form an independent avaition body with teeth to put this to an end as this is a regional airline used by all passengers in the region.
Lubinda what do you know..?shut up!!
Where are the jobs you promised…instead you are pushing more people out of employment because you want to fill your stomachs first Mr Lubinda!
Ba yambazi (# 5), it is not a taxi or mini bus carrying passengers from kalingalinga to mutendere, this is an airline being operated and standards have to be met
Is there anything that Zambians can do well? They can’t run an airline. They can’t speak and write good English (just listen to ZNBC or read Daily Mail). They cannot build good roads. They cannot even repair a bridge, as every year, culverts are washed away! They cant even vote, because out of 5 million registered only just over half voted. They cannot build houses, furniture. They cannot design clothing or make clothes or run a textile industry. They failed to run the mines after 30 years! They cannot run a railway line. The whole country is in a mess. I am beginning to think Mushota Chimfwembe is right.
I think we are a very mediocre nation, is airline safety debatable even when you have been told that this airline recently had two mid air mishaps confirmed by passengers and one of them my own relative! I feel sad for this nation’s level of thinking that’s why when next I interview someone for a job I will also consider wisdom and an IQ test just to make sure I am not hiring any of you dull chaps or else yu can bring my company down.
Zambians cannot run hospitals, cannot run schools. Zambians are failing to run soccer. Markets are breeding grounds for Musa Domestica (the common house fly). They cannot build toilets and when they do, they cannot keep them clean and when broken, they cannot repair them. By January 2012 there will be more Cholera cases to report. There is a disaster management team that is a disaster itself. The farmers grow maize but it goes to rot. The government doesn’t even know where the money for shares in ZCCM is. Government doesn’t even know where the gold in the hands of DEC went. NOBODY knows anything and even the President with all the ‘dullinteligence’ is clueless. What a nation! Out of 13 million people only 100 are recycled every year to do the same things all over again!
# 5&6 ALL I CAN SAY IS IAM AMAZED HOW DULL SOME HEADS CAN BE’ OBVIOUSLY YOU DON’T FLY OFTEN ENOUGH OR YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND AIRLINE SAFETY ISSUES, THANK # 9.
I guess GK and Namweleu you are lost on context. How many airlines would be operating in the USA if every plane that developed a tecnical fault you suspend the entire ailine. Why didn`t government order Zambezi airline to ground that particular plane that had faulty oxygen masks?
Yambezhi – in the larger context ,passenger safety is the overriding concern.
with the big players it is not uncommon for an entire fleet to be grounded if safety issues arise even from one plane.
@9 Gk has made a good point.
Safety must come first!..
Imwe mwe bantu please lets stop being dull. Recently when it was identified that the A380 had some faults all the airlines across the globe that had one in their fleet were advised to stop flying them until the problem was fixed. So if this can happen to whole fleets why shouldn’t Zambezi’s whole fleet be grounded. Lets be logical here the key thing here is about human safety and we should never compromise that. The problem in Zambia is that we accept life to be cheap when it shouldn’t and its really unfortunate.