Now ,Zambia Airways was Re-launch in 2021 and the Zambian Government called for the revitalisation of the Zambia Air Service Training Institute (ZASTI) and further to upgrade or construction new airports, and has incorporated Zambia Airways 1914 Limited to serve as flag carrier.

ZASTI was established in 1968/9, shortly after Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) gained independence from Britain on October,24 1964.

The institute provided human resource for the aviation training in the sub region and beyond also earmarked to become the centre of excellence by the year 2030 . Its mission is to effectively provide training and support services in order to contribute to safety and the growth of the aviation in Zambia and sub region .

Recently, ZASTI and SimAero signed Collaboration Commitment and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SimAero a French company specialised in Flight Simulation Training like Commercial Pilot and Aerospace Engineering.

The Signing ceremony was witnessed by ZASTI Principal Mathias Kyembe while SimAero was represented by Bryan Roseveare ATO Manager Johannesburg Centre signed the MOU on behalf of the two institutions.

According to the (MOU) seen by World Airnews, the French company will build a world class flight Simulation Centre to be housed at Zambia Air Service Training Institute (ZASTI) at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in the capital Lusaka.

“This is a huge significant milestone for ZASTI in our quest to offer aviation training.” Mathias Kyembe ZASTI Principal said.

This announcement was also made on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations(UN) General Assembly in the (USA) between Zambia Permanent representative Chola Milambo and SimAero Global Manager Karim Mekrez to position Zambia as regional aviation hub and the entire Africa.

Chola Milambo said SimAero is global company and major player in aero training flight simulator and engineering service provider world-wide that the company is poised to bring the exchange simulator in Lusaka, Zambia.

ZASTI has three departments – flying, ground services, and aircraft maintenance engineering from which 400 to 500 graduates from air service training every year.

The flying school trains pilots, while the ground services department churn out air traffic management, aviation security, meteorology and as well as fire rescue services.

In the engineering faculty, students are trained in aircraft maintenance, aeronautical electronics, systems engineering, computer systems engineering, hardware maintenance and repair, as well as local network administration.

And ZASTI Manager Flying School Masiye Phiri disclosed that ZASTI was facing many challenges ranging from lack of instructors, aircrafts, simulators and other equipment needed at the institute.

He added that beyond training,ZASTI has entered into a joint venture with Skymax of Kenya to revamp the Flying School at the Institute.

“As you know Pilot training is expensive because of high cost of fuel as well as aircrafts spare parts makes it even more expensive . Going forward we hope we will resume pilot training and with Re-launched Zambia Airways we hope the national carrier they start sponsoring trainee pilots at ZASTI and as an institution we are willing to collaborate with other Training Institutions to revamp pilot training. We are excited for the MOU between ZASTI and SimAero of France the global leader in aviation industry .” He said.

The institute was also conferred ,the status of training aviation staffs in member states by Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) . In addition, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) used to sponsors some of foreign students at the students, the call which management hopes to rekindle with the coming of SimAero.

After the liquidation of Zambia Airways in 1994 the institute faced some challenges in training of Pilots and that meant that those who wished to take advanced training at commercial level have to go to other countries such as South Africa and India.

ZASTI has a single-engine Cessna 152 and a twin -Piper Aztec (PA-23)that are used to train pilots currently these aircrafts are grounded.

The institute’s other important course in aviation industry is fire and rescue. Former ZASTI students use E-One Titan 4×4 fire(foam) the tenders at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (SMKIA), Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport and Mfuwe International Airport.

Although the fire (foam) at Mfuwe International Airport serves relatively small planes ,with expertise and experiences offered by (ZASTI) graduates, it is also capable of rendering fire services to large aircrafts such as the DC 8 or Boeing 727s.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between ZASTI and SimAero is welcome because it will truly transform Zambia’s aviation industry in its quest of becoming regional aviation hub and beyond.

SimAero is a global provider of flight simulator training to airlines, training organisations, and commercial pilots and also the group’s network that consists of 30 flight simulators between France where it is headquartered, South Africa,and China and provide its services to over 220 civil and military customers in more than 80 countries globally.

In order for ZASTI to achieve its ambition of being a Centre of excellence in aviation training in the sub-region and beyond by 2030 , government has promised to acquire aircraft, simulators for pilots and other needs for the institute.