Lusaka — Zambian Airways and Air Malawi have jointly established flights to Dubai through Dar-es-Salaam effective June 17, 2005.

And tourism minister Patrick Kalifungwa has disclosed that Zambia is working with other SADC countries to establish a single regional visa called Univisa aimed at easing regional mobility.

Regarding the Dubai flights, the flights will be operated and sold by the two airlines and will initially operate three times a week from Lusaka, departing Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and returning to Lusaka on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Speaking at the launch of the flights, Zambian Airways chief executive officer Don MacDonald said: "We believe this development is a significant step forward for the company and the aviation and tourism sectors in Zambia. We believe small countries and airlines working together can achieve the critical mass and economies of scale necessary to compete in global aviation."

MacDonald said the flights would also be competitively priced in keeping with the airline's philosophy of delivering low fares.

"The partnership opens up two significant destinations for the local market and increases the choice of available carriers," he said.

Air Malawi chief executive officer Esther Chioko said the partnership made economic sense considering the competitive nature of the aviation industry.

"We have taken courage as airlines. We have decided, we are determined we will do it on June 17," he said.

Chioko said the opening up of airspaces was good for Africa, but that it would be costly to small airlines if poorly managed.

Malawi High Commissioner to Zambia Dr Chrissie Mughogho, touting the cordial relations between the two countries, said the alliance would enhance the transport service between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Kalifungwa revealed that SADC countries, pursuant of a concept of "borderless tourism", were establishing a single visa system.

"The instrument for this is the establishment of a regional visa whose objective is to increase mobility within the SADC region and boost tourism. This document will serve as a visa for all SADC countries," he said.

Kalifungwa also said the government had taken note of the concerns of high jet fuel costs and its impact on the aviation industry.

He said submissions had been made to cabinet for consideration to mitigate the high costs of aviation fuel and assured that a solution would be found soon.