Turkish Airlines will, come 13th of December, launch twice weekly flights from Istanbul to Lusaka, the Zambian capital.
The development comes following Turkish President Erdogan’s State Visit to Zambia in late July this year when air links were also on the working agenda.
The two flights on Monday and Thursday with return flights leaving LUN on Tuesday and Friday, are to be increased as demand grows and will initially route via Dar es Salaam though the service will have no fifth freedom rights between the two cities.
Turkish Airlines officials will visit Lusaka next week to finalise discussions with the Zambian civil aviation authorities.
The new route will benefit Zambia’s tourism industry as the country can be reached from around the world – Turkish operates the largest international route network of any airline – with two stops, one in Istanbul for the connecting flight and one, for now, in Dar es Salaam enroute to Lusaka.
Turkish Airlines is also serving the most African destinations through their Istanbul hub of any airline not based in Africa.
Meanwhile has Ethiopian Airlines, also a Star Alliance member like Turkish, started to work on the formation of a new Zambian national airline in which ET will hold a minority share but is expected to second key staff to the new carrier.
Source:ATC News
