Air travel into Zambia’s Copperbelt is about to become significantly easier. Regional carrier Airlink has announced an expanded flight schedule between Johannesburg and Ndola, adding new frequencies and better-timed services from late March 2026. The move is poised to deepen links between one of Southern Africa’s key aviation hubs and Zambia’s industrial heartland, with far-reaching implications for tourism, investment and regional trade.
A Strategic Boost to Johannesburg–Ndola Connectivity
From 30 March 2026, Airlink will move from a single daily service on the Johannesburg–Ndola route to a more robust schedule that introduces an additional three weekly flights. The current mid-morning departure from Johannesburg and early afternoon return from Ndola will be retained, while a late-afternoon Johannesburg departure and an early-morning Ndola departure will be added on selected days. Together, the enhanced timings are designed to create more flexible options for both business and leisure travellers.
According to Airlink’s published schedule, the core daily service between Johannesburg’s O. R. Tambo International Airport and Ndola’s Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport will continue to operate in the late morning and early afternoon. Complementing this, a second Johannesburg to Ndola flight will operate three times a week in the late afternoon, while an early-morning Ndola to Johannesburg service will run on alternate days. The result is a pattern of morning, midday and evening options that transforms what was once a limited corridor into a genuinely versatile travel link.
The expanded services will be operated with a mix of Embraer E190 regional jets and smaller Embraer ERJ135 aircraft. This blend allows Airlink to match capacity to demand while maintaining frequency, a model the airline has used successfully on other African routes. For travellers, it translates into more choice, improved onward connections through Johannesburg and a better fit between flight times and the realities of doing business or exploring Zambia.
Ndola: Gateway to the Copperbelt and Beyond
Ndola is Zambia’s third-largest city and the administrative and commercial capital of the Copperbelt Province. Long known as a mining and industrial powerhouse, the broader Copperbelt has been central to Zambia’s economic story for decades. Ndola’s role has evolved from being simply a service centre for nearby mines to becoming a logistics and trade node that links Zambia with the Democratic Republic of Congo and, increasingly, with wider regional supply chains.
The city’s modern Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport, which opened in 2021, was built with precisely this kind of growth in mind. Positioned northeast of the city, the airport offers longer runways, improved passenger facilities and upgraded cargo infrastructure compared with its predecessor. For airlines such as Airlink, it provides both the capacity and reliability required to scale up operations, particularly on routes that carry a mix of business travellers, technical specialists and time-sensitive freight.
While copper and associated industries remain the economic backbone, Ndola is also diversifying into sectors such as agriculture processing, logistics, construction materials and services. International connectivity is a critical ingredient in that transition. More frequent flights to Johannesburg do not just link Ndola with South Africa; they also open efficient one-stop access to intercontinental markets via global carriers that use Johannesburg as their African gateway.
Tourism Potential: From Copperbelt City to Zambian Discovery
Though the Copperbelt is most often associated with mining, the region has quietly been cultivating its tourism credentials. Ndola sits within reach of several natural and cultural attractions, while also serving as a practical entry point for travellers interested in combining business visits with leisure time elsewhere in Zambia. Airlink’s new schedule makes that kind of blended itinerary more appealing and logistically easier.
For international visitors, a typical journey into Zambia’s famed destinations such as the South Luangwa National Park, the Lower Zambezi or the Kafue often starts in Johannesburg. With better-timed flights into Ndola, the Copperbelt can position itself as an alternative entry corridor to complement Lusaka and Livingstone. Safaris in northern Zambia, birding expeditions, cultural circuits incorporating Copperbelt towns and trips to little-visited lakes and waterfalls can be packaged around the improved connectivity.
Domestic travel within Zambia also stands to benefit. Tour operators and hoteliers can leverage Johanneburg–Ndola flights to create multi-centre itineraries that include both the Copperbelt and more traditional tourist hotspots. For example, corporate travellers flying in for mining conferences or site visits could easily add a long weekend at a national park or on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. As more travellers discover that possibility, demand for accommodation, guiding services and local experiences in and around Ndola is likely to grow.
Economic Ripple Effects for Zambia and the Region
Air connectivity is widely acknowledged as a catalyst for economic development, particularly in landlocked countries such as Zambia. By expanding its Ndola schedule, Airlink is doing more than offering convenient new flight times. It is helping to lower the practical barriers to trade, investment and skills exchange across the region.
For the mining sector, whose supply chains stretch from engineering firms in Johannesburg to smelters in the Copperbelt and beyond, time can be as valuable as ore. More frequent flights enable quicker movement of specialised staff, technical experts and high-value, low-weight components that must be delivered on tight timelines. That, in turn, can reduce downtime in mining operations and improve responsiveness to both planned projects and unexpected challenges on site.
Small and medium-sized enterprises also stand to gain. Companies in fields such as equipment servicing, environmental consulting, agribusiness, construction and logistics can more readily conduct face-to-face meetings, site inspections and cross-border collaborations. For Zambian businesses, Johannesburg remains a vital source market for investors, financial services, technology providers and training institutions. When it becomes easier and more predictable to fly between the Copperbelt and South Africa’s commercial capital, the threshold for launching new ventures or expanding existing ones is effectively lowered.
Improved Schedules for Business, Bleisure and VFR Travel
One of the most notable aspects of Airlink’s new Ndola schedule is the introduction of an early-morning arrival into Johannesburg from Ndola and a late-afternoon departure from Johannesburg to Ndola on select days. This structure effectively enables same-day return trips in both directions, a crucial convenience for business travellers seeking to maximise productivity and minimise nights away from home.
Morning arrivals into Johannesburg align neatly with the start of the business day in Sandton and other commercial districts, allowing Zambian travellers to attend meetings, conferences or medical appointments and then connect to evening flights onward or back to Ndola. Conversely, the late-afternoon departure from Johannesburg to Ndola supports travellers who need a full workday in South Africa before flying north in time for evening commitments.
These timings also cater to a growing category of travellers who blend business and leisure, often described as bleisure travel. With more flexible flight options, a corporate traveller might choose to arrive in Ndola a day early to explore local attractions, or to add a weekend at a nearby lodge after completing work on the Copperbelt. Likewise, Zambian residents visiting family and friends in South Africa gain greater flexibility in planning visits around holidays, school terms and special events.
Airlink’s Regional Strategy and the Role of Johannesburg as a Hub
The Ndola expansion fits squarely within Airlink’s broader strategy of reinforcing Johannesburg as a primary gateway for Southern and East Africa. In recent years, the airline has steadily added new routes and frequencies from Johannesburg to cities such as Nairobi, Lusaka and multiple Mozambican destinations, including the newly launched Nacala service. The pattern is clear: a dense regional network feeding into a single, well-connected hub.
For Ndola, being integrated into that network means more than just direct links to South Africa. The enhanced schedule is timed to connect with Airlink’s other regional flights as well as long-haul services offered by its partner airlines at O. R. Tambo International Airport. Travellers from Ndola can reach destinations across Southern Africa, as well as Europe, the Middle East and North America, with a single, through-ticket connection in Johannesburg.
From the airline’s perspective, the route upgrade reflects confidence in the Copperbelt’s medium-term growth prospects. Airlines are cautious about adding capacity where demand is uncertain. That Airlink is not only maintaining but expanding its Ndola operations suggests that passenger numbers and yields on the route have been robust enough to justify additional investment. It also underscores the airline’s commitment to being a key facilitator of regional integration at a time when African economies are working to deepen intra-African trade and travel.
Opportunities and Challenges for the Travel and Tourism Sector
For Zambia’s tourism authorities and private-sector operators, the new schedule is both an opportunity and a call to action. More flights alone do not guarantee more tourists. Destinations need compelling experiences, effective marketing and streamlined ground logistics to convert improved air access into actual visitor numbers. Ndola and the wider Copperbelt region now have a window to reimagine how they present themselves to the international market.
One promising avenue is the development of themed circuits that link industrial heritage with nature and culture. Visitors could tour modern mining operations or historical mine sites, then pair that with excursions to forest reserves, traditional villages or art and music hubs. The Copperbelt already has a resident population of expatriates and domestic business travellers who may be receptive to curated weekend escapes or day trips when new, easy-to-book options are available.
At the same time, challenges remain. Infrastructure beyond the main corridors can be uneven, and some of the region’s most compelling natural sites are not yet well known outside Zambia. Coordination between national and provincial tourism bodies, municipal authorities, hoteliers, transport providers and local communities will be crucial to ensure that the benefits of increased connectivity are widely shared and that growth is sustainable.
Looking Ahead: Ndola’s Growing Role in Zambia’s Aviation Map
The late March 2026 expansion of Airlink’s Johannesburg–Ndola services marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Zambia’s air network. It signals the Copperbelt’s rising importance not only as a mining and industrial zone but as a node in the broader ecosystem of trade, tourism and knowledge exchange in Southern Africa. If accompanied by thoughtful destination development and business-friendly policies, the new schedule could help catalyse a new phase of growth for Ndola and its surroundings.
For now, travellers can look forward to greater choice, more convenient timings and easier access between Ndola and one of Africa’s busiest aviation hubs. As aircraft continue to shuttle between the Copperbelt and Johannesburg’s skyline, they will be carrying more than passengers. Each flight represents potential deals closed, holidays begun, family reunions made possible and horizons widened. In that sense, Airlink’s new schedule is not just about moving people and goods; it is about linking aspirations across borders and reinforcing Zambia’s place on the regional and global travel map.