BA drops Zambia freighter service

STANSLAS CHISANGA FROM AUGUST 9 British Airways (BA) will cancel its freighter services to Zambia citing exorbitant fuel prices as the reason. BA country commercial manager for Zambia, Nilanthi Manatunga, told a press briefing last week that aviation fuel in Zambia was higher than in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya. International Air Transport Association (IATA) assistant director for fuel services, Keith Carter, agreed that Zambia was one of the most expensive locations in Africa for fuel. He said that although the price of fuel was driven by world markets, Zambia had to address ways of bringing the cost down because this would damage the economy of the country. “This is why I was asked to come here on behalf of the industry to talk about what can be done,” he said. Meanwhile, Zambia Export Growers Association (ZEGA) chief executive, Luke Mbewe, told FTW that cancellation of freight services by BA would have serious repercussions on the growth of the non-traditional export sector. ZEGA depends on airfreight for almost 100% of all exports. The existing flight charters to and from Zambia will not be adequate especially for European markets.