Proflight Zambia Champions Air Connectivity to Drive Regional Growth
Proflight Zambia is leading the call for a unified and connected African aviation sector, highlighting the importance of infrastructure investment, streamlined regulations, and policy alignment to unlock the continent’s vast air travel potential.
Speaking at the 2025 Zambia Travel Expo (ZATEX) and the ICAO African & Indian Ocean Aviation Week in Victoria Falls, Proflight executives emphasised the need for collaborative action to boost intra-African connectivity.
Proflight’s Business Development Director, Keira Langford Johnson, stressed that aligning airline, airport, and government strategies could significantly reduce costs and make regional air travel more accessible.
“We strongly believe that aligning policies and investments among airlines, governments, and airports is essential to making regional air travel more affordable and accessible,” she said during a ZATEX panel on strengthening tourism through air connectivity.
With Africa seeing a 9% rise in international arrivals in Q1 2025, and Zambia allocating over K700 million in its 2025 national budget to upgrade provincial aerodromes, the stage is set for aviation-led economic recovery and growth.
At the ICAO AFI Aviation Week, Proflight’s Director of Ground Operations, Cargo and Catering Services, Vincent Banda, shared the airline’s journey from a single-aircraft charter operator to a major domestic and regional carrier.
“By educating travellers, expanding routes and harnessing digital platforms, we’ve become a catalyst for intra-African connectivity,” he said.
Proflight Zambia, which transported over 276,000 passengers in 2024 and employs 280 staff—38% of them women—is now leveraging technology and data analytics to identify underserved routes, improve passenger experiences, and champion public-private partnerships for sustainable airport infrastructure.
With direct flights between Livingstone and Cape Town recently launched, the airline’s growth strategy is focused on affordability, accessibility, and resilience.
Stakeholders, including Zambia’s Minister of Transport and ICAO officials, also called for lower fuel levies and faster implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to realise open skies across the continent.
