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The Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) has recorded a significant increase in passengers statistics for 2022 due to the opening of the economies in the post -Covid-19 era.
ZACL acting managing director Maggie Kaunda said major airports recorded 1.6 million passengers in the period under review compared to 753,930 passengers in 2021.
She said achieving 70 percent Covid-19 vaccination rate was a milestone that would continue contributing to a rise in passengers at the airports.
Kaunda said the highest was in 2019 where 1.8 million but dropped to 545,884 passengers in 2020 due the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic as economies imposed movement restrictions.
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She said in line with the Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) ‘s market strategy for 2023, it was expected that 1.9 passengers would be achieved.
Kaunda said during the briefing in Lusaka on Thursday that the announced visa waivers in the 2023 national budget would also boost the tourism arrivals this year and beyond.
“In line with the ZTA strategic focus, we are looking at 1.9 million passengers this year but there are risks ahead,” Kaunda said.
She said the corporation would continue monitoring possible risks such as the new Covid-variant, the Chinese zero Covid-19 policy as well as the increase in the cost of oil on the international market.
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