Airways International to Supply ATC Simulator to Zambia Airports

Airways International will deliver an air traffic control simulator solution to Zambia Airports Corporation Limited, the state-owned operator of the country's airports, under a newly announced agreement.

The deal centres on simulation — ground-based training equipment that lets controllers practise approaches, tower operations and emergency scenarios without occupying live airspace. For a national airport operator, a simulator is the standard route to growing controller numbers and keeping ratings current without sending staff abroad.

Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) manages the country's principal airports, including Lusaka and Livingstone, and carries responsibility for air navigation services alongside its aerodrome operations. The corporation has sought to expand traffic handling capacity as regional carriers add routes into southern Africa.

What does the simulator change for ZACL?

The practical gain is training throughput. Controller certification requires repeated exposure to traffic scenarios; a simulator converts that requirement from a scarce, abroad-based exercise into a domestic, repeatable one. That typically shortens the pipeline from recruit to rated controller and reduces the cost per training hour.

It also matters for safety oversight. Simulation allows rehearsing rare, high-consequence events — go-arounds in bad weather, runway incursions, communication failures — that cannot be staged safely in live operations.

Airways International, the training and simulation arm associated with the UK's air navigation services sector, supplies ATC simulation equipment and training services to civil aviation authorities and airport operators internationally. The Zambia contract extends that footprint into southern Africa.

Scope and what remains open

The announcement confirms the delivery of the simulator solution to ZACL. The parties have not detailed the number of simulator positions, the installation timeline, the contract value, or which airport will host the device.

Those specifics will determine the operational impact. A single-position tower simulator serves basic rating training; a multi-position system with radar and tower modules can support full approach and area ratings, and heavier concurrent student throughput.

For ZACL, the next milestones to watch are the installation date, regulator acceptance of the device for training credit, and the first cohort of controllers trained on it.