Government has urged Proflight Zambia to look at their planes seriously to ensure that the safety of their customers is enhanced.
Transport and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga said his Ministry is yet to receive a consultative report on what occurred on Monday when a proflight plane which was flying to Solwezi from Lusaka developed a fault and was forced to return to Lusaka twenty minutes after takeoff.
Mr Mukanga cautioned Proflight Zambia to “examine their planes seriously” and that if the airline company failed to rectify its
problems then Government would intervene.
Mr. Mukanga said government wants to see that all aviation companies provide their passengers with effective security and ensure that their lives are safeguarded.
Mr. Mukanga added that government has taken this matter very seriously and will follow it up to see what exactly transpired.
Mr Mukanga was responding to questions from journalists.
Just asking – Does Zed have the equivalent of the FAA, how will they follow up?
its fuel shortage… the plane did have enough fuel.. kaya mwee, this PF government is broke,,
This when GBM is truly missed, he would have ordered his trucks to go and bring in fuel fro Dar in seconds
BUDGET AIRLINES: We once intensively debated this matter on this same platform and some fellow bloggers got very abrasive with me when I insisted that the airline industry is not for poor people. To me BUDGET AIRLINE= OLD(cheap) aircrafts+ LOW(or NO) maintenance costs+ low grade maintenance spare parts & staff+ out-of-market pilots= CHEAP FLIGHT TICKETS!!!! PERIOD. I don’t know much about Profflight’s shareholding structure, but no one should advance the need to have indigenous Zambian shareholders as reason to accept mediocrity – we can have locals partnering with genuine, experienced, renown & suitably resourced operators in this industry. It’s time to STOP those dirty hands of the officials responsible for issuing these licenses & SAVE LIVES!!!
@Wanu….. that business model of budget airlines can’t work in Africa why? because the African skies have not been liberated yet all the respective countries are dragging their feet for years on this issue. If this was done I tell what. …all these small airlines like Proflight would be in a position to negotiate funding to acquired brand new fuel efficient midrange jets.
*…not been liberated as all the respective countries. …
*…not been liberated as all the respective countries have been dragging their. ..
Agony is finding out that Zambian watchdog just blocked your Fb account after you passed a comment telling them to be more factual and not reporting rumours.
Back to the story.Good Move Mukanga you have to make sure that passenger safety is guaranteed.
@ Saulosi how can watchdog block your Fb account unlike blocking your comments or deleting your comments? coz useless watchdog don’t own Fb. Am lost just asking how it happened. Anyway I personally stopped following watch dog because they don’t accommodate divergent views, they have blocked me because of my independent reasoning, of which I don’t care coz I can live without useless watchdog.
Saulosi or whatever yourself, learn to tell the truth sometimes.
Mwiponta Mukabwela@Sorry i meant blocked me from commenting.I guess my command of the queens language needs an improvement
Zambian Watchdog = UPND = Tonga Tribe
I was on a solwezi bound plane on friday and it too developed a fault (right engine failed to start) luckly we were still on the ground. In fact I believe its the same aircraft
How many times iwe mudala usunka motoka ka battery kobe ka uma flat?? Lelo wa bosa ati “I was on plane , engine failed to start??” Ninshi tawa chitile violunteer ati tu sunke???
Safety is very important, hold them accountable Mr Mukanga, Zambia needs people like you who can execute their government duties like you without fear or favor by making sure every body is safe in our country. Pro flight align your business very well before government walks in.
The Minister should know that safety oversight does not function in this Country. What needs to be done is:have an Aviation policy,employ profesionals to run DCA and impliment the policy. As long as GRZ continue to put Aviation in the back seat nothing will improve. Zambia is a contracting State to ICAO so we need follow the Anexes religuosly but too many jockers can you imagine we used to be leaders now we are 50yrs behind
Spot on!!
It seems this has become a “Rant-fest!” No ONE HAS COMMENDED the airline for returning to Lusaka safely – The Airline WENT BY THE BOOK at the first hint of a problem – the minister seems to have little to do but GRAB SOME HEADLINES!!
Iwe Rashidi, we have an Aviation policy, we also have the DCA(Dept of Civila Aviation). If only Ministers past & present would stop poking their noses in things they don’t know – we would have had updated avaiation facilities by now!!
Mwa mona , mwaleka na ponta sana utu ma “A” twa fulisha!!
The trouble with PF is crisis management through the media!
You have not created an enabling environment.
The cost of doing business is just too high and that in itself compromises safety especially for the Airline industry.
Do your home work first and learn to talk to the organizations concerned rather than just issuing irresponsible statements through the press!
Don’t kill Proflight the same way you killed Zambia Airways and Zambezi Airlines or soon we’ll have no local airline!
This isn’t news worthy,Yamfwa is stating the obvious that also exposes laxity in passenger transport in general.The question is whose fault is it that unnecessary accidents occur on our roads everyday,some reported others not?It’s the whole government machinery that is rotten.Lack of quality leadership means fresh policies to improve the system are non-existent.Where they exist, there is a cloud of fear in those with the know-how, because ‘it’s either you ignore professional ethics to please the dictator or do what is right and face the wrath.For example,if this airline is owned by interests in high political office,it’s operations cannot be suspended irrespective of the seriousness of their law-breaking.Nchito and Mmembe’s Roan Air was such.What’s the point when laws are only for…
Salaula planes are allowed where there is no law.
I hope the minister will not end at paying lip service to this long term problem . Please act diligently before lives are lost . Scared for my husband and all who regularly fly on these small planes.
The minister is like an exited kid. Proflight is probably on of the safest airlines in the region. the ministers statementent just alarms e public. we have seen many international airlines have developed faults in zambia including south african airways, british airways and more seriously emirates. No threats from gvt at that point. hon. chipuba please grow up
The word “probably” doesn’t exist when you are dealing with avaition safety. …do you why most of these regional planes are banned from flying to Europe? The are outdated like that plane the photo and don’t comply with avaition safety regulations.
When we tell you that running an airline is not cheap most people think its a joke…now when you have a country where there is a laxity in avaition safety regulations; companies will inevitably cut corners and compromise with safety especially if you have a political figure having the final say. In all honesty how do we even contemplate fighting corruption and poromote good corporate governance if the final say is left to a dumb politican like Yamfwa. Look at what happened with Zambeef debacle ….has Ministy of Health penalised them?
Issues of this nature should left to professional independent qusai government bodies not a minster or political figure head this the selfsame reason our regulator and coordinating agencies like a ZEMA are weak.
Elo, I’m on the 07.00hrs flight to Ndola tomorrow. Ba Proflight, poseniko amano ala!
BAE Jetstreams Are Very Old Planes. These Were Last Produced More Than 21 Years Ago. The EU Has Banned Such Aircraft From Their Airspace. I Wonder Why Zambians Love Dumped Things. I Would Rather Go By Road Than Climb These Flying Old Deathtraps. These Old Machines Are Time Bombs, All Proflight’s Planes Are More Than 20 Years Old. They Are Hazards.
747 first flight 1970!! so we take it you will never fly a 747?? Indeed yapping is cheap!!
Is this airline not owned by Fred Mmembe too? He will get another loan before he files for liquidation again.
Most of times, SILENCE IS GOLDEN!! You seem to be the olny Zedian trying to leave his cave!!
Flights all over the world develop minor faults,old or new like airbus 747 ,which developed electrical problems.in USA the FAA gave qualified experts who do check and recommend improvement to those repeated faults areas .in fact proflight should be applauded that their pilots was able to detect it quickly.i hope the govt have agency like FAA with qualified aircraft technicians.furthermore I hope there is no hidden agenda in this warning,lest we see mumbe,nchito forming an airline.
I think you meant BOEING 747, Airbus have no model with that designation!!
TB Joshua says half of African planes will be grounded this year due to bad maintenance.
Maikalange reading your comments you obviously have no idea about Aviation. Please tell me where I can find Aviation Policy on Zambia. Proflight have a reporting system in place so the DCA should wait for the report then investigate its not up to the Minister who is trying to gain points from his Boss. If Zambia has a competent DCA why are we black listed?This is an industry with very strict rules on safety oversight.
Who told you we are blacklisted?? Having Airlines not meeting the minimum requirements to fly in Europe DOESN’T EQUATE TO BLACK LISTING!
It boggles one’s mind when you say Zambia has been black listed – sorry, a country as regards flying doesn’t get black-listed. As of 31/10/13 Zambia was still listed as a member of ICAO – meaning our DCA is INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED!!
Infact more to the practical point, NONE OF THE ZEDIAN Airlines have a plane with the range to get to Europe – & likely stop in so many places like a minibus to refuel!
Oh, I forgot to direct you to where you can find a copy, THE DCA OFFICES IN LUSAKA!!
Rashidi, an update:
INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANISATION (ICAO) AUDIT OF ZAMBIAN CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR
An audit under what is known as the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme USOAP) on the Zambian Civil Aviation Sector was conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from 26th January to 3rd February 2009 and 4th to 9th April 2009.
As a result of this audit ninety-eight (98) findings and one significant safety concern (SSC) were recorded. The significant safety concern was as a result of non compliance to the five phase air operator certification process which ICAO had introduced to ensure that operators applying for air service permits complied with international safety requirements. This is what brought about the European Union ban of Zambian…
….Zambian registered aircraft from operating into the European Airspace.
Over the past three years, the Zambian Department of Civil Aviation has been engaged with the International Civil Aviation organisation, through mutually developed corrective action plans detailing how the findings and the significant safety concern were being addressed step by step by correspondence and exchanging electronic data. Prior to the validation mission, both parties were satisfied that the issues leading to the significant safety concern and other safety related findings were adequately addressed. This therefore paved way for the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) to be conducted which was conducted from the 12th to 18th December 2012 by a team of four ICAO experts. The ICVM is a necessary…
…onsite verification of the actual status on the ground.
The good news is that Zambia was on 10th January 2013 reported by ICAO to have successfully resolved the Significant Safety Concern. This is a very crucial step towards the removal of Zambia from the ICAO Safety Watch list and subsequently from the EU Ban List. The European Union has its own distinct requirements, procedures and processes apart from ICAO for removing airlines and safety oversight agencies from the Ban List.
As for my Aviation ignorance – i’ll let sleeping dogs lie!
The issue of safety oversight in Zambia is very seiuos the reason being this country is full of guys who don’t act. Go to the EU website Annexes A and B still shows Air Operators certified by Zambian DCA are blacklisted and secondly Zambia has taken steps to remove the safety concerns but have not implemented eg making the DCA autonomous. On the GRZ and DCA websites there. Is no record of Aviation Policy. Let’s not defend the obvious. For your information Rashid has been in Aviation for 43yrs plus
The incident was caused by a minor fault in the fan that circulates air in the aircraft cabin. This fan has nothing to do with the aircraft engines, avionics or pressurisation system.
The incident was fully investigated by the Department of Civil Aviation and the aircraft returned to service in accordance with procedures once the investigation was complete.
Thank you Proflight too many jokers in Zambia