The government took a 55% stake in the newly relaunched Zambia Airways with Ethiopian Airlines owning the remaining 45% of the shares.

[2] The new airline launched with flights from [3]Lusaka to Ndola, and Livingstone from December 1 and adding on Solwezi, Harare, and Johannesburg to its network.

In September 2023, the airline received its first jet engine aircraft, a 737-800, bringing the total number of fleet to two.

The domestic routes were generally unprofitable and they were supported by the profits generated with CAA's international operations.

Pan African Air Services and Flying Tiger Line also participated as bidders for the management contract.

Operations started on 1 January 1968 using BAC One-Eleven 400 aircraft and serving Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zaire on the Lusaka–Ndola–Nairobi, which also called at Kinshasa, Blantyre, and Livingstone.

A Douglas DC-8-43, on wet-lease from Alitalia, permitted the carrier to start, in November 1968, a service from Lusaka to London with intermediate stops at Nairobi and Rome.

[7] The introduction of the Boeing 707 enabled the airline to launch direct services from Lusaka to London and Frankfurt in April 1975 and July 1976, respectively.

[11] After reorganisation, Zambia Airways became a subsidiary of the government-owned Zambian Industrial and Mining Corporation in April 1982.

At this time, the airline undertook scheduled passenger and cargo services radiating from Lusaka to a number of domestic points and to Bombay, Dar-es-Salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, Larnaca, London, Mauritius, Nairobi and Rome with a fleet of one DC-10-30, four Boeing 707-320Cs, one Boeing 737-200 and two HS-748s.

[7] Aimed at returning the carrier to profitability, Lufthansa was hired in January 1986 to carry out a study over the performance of the technical and operational departments.

This journey was the quickest route from South Africa to the United States; because of apartheid, the US had prohibited direct flights between the countries in 1986.

[16][17] While the Zambian government also opposed apartheid, the country was facing economic hardship and needed the money that Zambia Airways was earning from the route.

At this time, the carrier's network included domestic points along with Bombay (Mumbai), Dar-es-Salaam, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Gaborone, Harare, Jeddah, London, Manzini, Nairobi, New York and Rome.

[19] A Boeing 757 freighter leased from Ansett Worldwide Aviation made Zambia Airways the second non-American carrier, after Ethiopian Airlines, in operating the type.

[20] The Gulf War and the easing of sanctions on South Africa caused financial difficulties for the airline.

On 20 August 2018, Ethiopian Airlines signed a definitive agreement with the Zambian Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), to acquire 45 percent shareholding in the revived air carrier for US$30 million.