PRESS RELEASE - 2018 QUARTER 3 RESULTS
With 553,045 general passenger movements, Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) recorded a positive growth for the third quarter of 2018; Passenger numbers increased by 11.6% when compared to the same period last year.
International passenger movements grew by 9.1% from 400,950 passengers in the third quarter of 2017 to 437,250 passengers in the third quarter of 2018.
115,795 domestic passengers passed through the airports in comparison to 94,735 in the third quarter of 2017, a resultant increase of 22%.
Some notable factors that led to the performance were as follows:
Positive
1. Continued domestic uplifts to Livingstone, Lusaka and Ndola by both Mahogany Air and Proflight Zambia giving a positive domestic variance of 21%, 28%, 26% and 15% respectively at Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Mfuwe International Airports as compared to the same period last year. This signifies that an actual growth has been recorded, rather than a split in the passenger numbers following the introduction of Mahogany Air in August of 2017.
2. Proflight Zambia introduced a bigger capacity aircraft in this period, a Boeing B737- 500 with 114 seats servicing domestic routes mostly between Lusaka, Livingstone and Ndola. However, this aircraft has since been withdrawn.
3. The introduction of flights between Lusaka and Harare by Proflight Zambia and Malawian Airlines.
4. Increased competition between Mahogany Air and Proflight Zambia has resulted in a reduction in ticket fares; this has attracted new travellers on the domestic front.
5. The introduction of RwandAir flights on the Lusaka - Johannesburg route helped to stimulate traffic to Johannesburg. RwandAir further upgraded the fleet on the route to include the addition of an Airbus A330, with a seat capacity of 270 while maintaining other aircrafts such as the Boeing 737, Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) and a Bombardier Q400 on the route. This resulted in increased capacity and passenger numbers on the route by 5% as compared with the same period last year.
Adverse
6. The continued limited bed capacity in Livingstone and Mfuwe continues to affect traffic to the tourist airports, particularly with international tourists. Limited competition has kept room rates relatively high.
7. The operation of a low cost carrier namely Fastjet Zimbabwe into Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe stimulated South African traffic into Victoria Falls International Airport on the Zimbabwean side due to a combination of cheap air fares and accommodation. South Africa remains the biggest market for the Livingstone and Victoria Falls region.
8. On a Macro level, immigration policies continue to affect travel to Zambia as countries surrounding Zambia have increasingly relaxed border rules by allowing most tourists to obtain visa upon arrival. Countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Rwanda are among the new movers of this motion.
9. Reduction in frequency from some operators such as Air Namibia, Fastjet and Ethiopian Airlines Cargo.
Paying Passenger Movements
Paying passengers are all departing passengers from the four designated airports at Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Mfuwe International Airports. The total paying passenger traffic during the quarter under review was 200,640 against a budget of 188,165 symbolizing some 6.6% above budget performance. Similarly, this was a positive growth of about 13% when compared to the second quarter of 2017 when 177,101 paying passengers were recorded.
At individual airport level, Kenneth Kaunda International Airport continued to be dominant with 126,534 paying passengers having been recorded during the period under review. This was 3.7% above budget of 121,999 paying passengers. Similarly, this was a positive growth of about 10% when compared to the same period last year when 115,119 paying passengers were recorded. Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport had a strong performance against the budget at 22% and 32% growth relative to 2017 performance.
Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport and Mfuwe International Airport also recorded positive performances when compared to the budget at 4.2% and 16.2% respectively and positive performances when compared to the same period last year at 11% and 22% respectively.
KKIA recorded positive performances against the budget in both domestic and international paying passengers at 17% and 0.3% respectively. Similarly, SMKIA recorded positive performances against the budget in both domestic and international paying passengers at 51% and 5% respectively.
HMNIA recorded a positive performance against the budget of 16.4% on domestic paying passengers and 0.6% in international paying passengers. Similarly, MIA recorded a positive performance against the budget of 15.4% in domestic paying passengers and 29.6% in international paying passengers.
The consolidated domestic and international performance against the budget for the four airports was 23.6% and 1% positive respectively. Additionally, a comparison against the same period last year indicates positive growths of 35% for domestic paying passengers and 6% for international paying passengers.
Aircraft Movement
During the third quarter of 2018, a total of 17,067 aircraft movements were recorded at the four international airports namely Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Mfuwe International Airports. When compared to the same period last year which had 16,223 aircraft movements, there was a positive growth of 5.2%.
Domestic aircraft movements increased by 11.1% from 9,104 aircraft movements in the third quarter of 2017 to 10,118 aircraft movements in the third quarter of 2018. Additionally, international aircraft movements reduced by 2.4% from 7,119 aircraft movements in the third quarter of 2017 to 6,949 aircraft movements in third quarter 2018.
Cargo Movement
When compared to the same period last year, Cargo movement decreased by 7% in the third quarter of 2018 due to increased competition from the road sector that is less costly as well as the appreciated kwacha which resulted in reduction on exports via air transport by 15%.
About Zambia Airports Corporation Limited
Zambia Airports Corporation Limited was established in 1989 through the amendment of the Aviation Act, Chapter 444 of the Laws of Zambia which has been repealed and replaced by the Aviation Act No. 5 of 2016. It is also incorporated under the Companies Act Chapter 388 of the Laws of Zambia.
The Corporation’s mandate is to develop, maintain and manage the four designated international airports, namely Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe in Ndola, Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula in Livingstone and Mfuwe and three Strategic and seven provincial aerodromes and the provision of Air Navigation services within the Zambian Airspace.
For further information contact:
Mweembe Sikaulu (Ms)
Communications and Brand Manager
mweembe.sikaulu@zacl.aero; cell: +260 964 629463