The airline said in a notice to passengers at Lusaka airport that it had experienced difficulties after jet fuel rose 100% in the last 18 months, increasing its operational costs by 50%.
"This created a lot of problems for Zambian Airways as a growing business. In the interest of our stakeholders and our employees, we have decided with immediate effect to suspend all our operations until further notice," it said.
Dozens of passengers flying to South Africa were left stranded, eye witnesses said.
Aviation industry officials say Zambian Airways emerged as the leading national airline after state-owned Zambia Airways went into liquidation in 1994.
Since then the country has seen the emergence of smaller airlines mainly operating on local routes, but Zambian Airways has been flying twice daily to Johannesburg, and was the main carrier to other major hubs in southern Africa.
A few months ago, the airline told local media it was facing operational difficulties after its debt to the state-run National Airports Corporation (NAC) rose to nearly $2-million in parking and landing fees. – By: Reuters