Zambian based air companies, the government and tour operators are committed to not only providing traveller safety, but also tp ensuring safety standards are measured and achieved.
New regulations (ZCARS) have been passed into law, and the Zambian government and private sector are both working hard to comply with ICAO regulations.
Zambia is carrying out the ICAO required five phase certification for its domestic scheduled operator Proflight. This certification is progressing well.
The Zambian Government provided funds for training its certifying inspectors in the areas of flight operations and personnel licensing subsequent to the finding. The training of the ops course was done by the Europeans and the PEL course by the American FAA.
The Zambezi AOC which was first issued and whose certification underwent validation process by an ICAO Co-operative Development and Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness (COSCAP) team is having a few deficiencies being repaired.
The other Charter companies have had their operations geographically limited as required by International Law, so that Zambia is fully compliant to its Chicago obligation.
There's a clear feeling in industry that the new regime that's coming in is very thorough and practical; and that once fully adopted, the industry will be better for it.
That said, this could never be an instant process. It seems likely that the very earliest that the Zambian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) will get a stamp of approval from ICAO will be July 2010 - and it is possible the process could extend beyond that.
