Milestone as Dar receives new plane
TANZANIA: Tanzania is set to receive another new plane, Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner tomorrow (August 19) with a capacity of 262 passengers, an addition to its fleet that could see the national flag carrier Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) expand its route network.
The aircraft will be re- ceived by Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Mwinyi at the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in the isles, making a total to two of this type of aircraft.
Minister for Transport Prof Makame Mbarawa told journalists that the arrival of the modern long-range aircraft will enable the ATCL to increase the number of its flights. He said the new plane that will be received from USA has the capacity to carry 262 passengers with 22 seats in busi- ness class and 240 seats in economy, along with capacity in between 15 and 20 tonnes of cargo depending on the volume of passengers and their luggage.
Prof Mbarawa said that the arrival of the modern Boe- ing 787-8 Dreamliner will enable ATCL to expand its flights in the region and internationally, as it plans to start new routes to Kinshasa, Goma, Muscat and Lagos.
“In addition to commercial benefits, the increase of planes and flights also cre- ates employment opportunities for Tanzanians and boosting the tourism industry,” Prof Mnyaa said.
He said that until Junethis year (2024), ATCL had a total of 826 employees of which 118 are pilots, and 178 tech- nicians/engineers and 530 other employees.
However, ATCL is facing a shortage of employees in the special units in aviation including a shortage of 45 pilots and 30 flight engineers, by last June.
Prof Mbarawa said that currently, ATCL serves 14 local destinations: Mwan- za, Bukoba, Songea, Zanzibar, Katavi, Dar es Salaam, Geita, Kigoma, Dodoma, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, and Tabora. In addition, ATC serves the following regional and international destinations including Entebbe-Uganda; Nairobi – Kenya; Bujumbura – Burundi; Hahaya-Comoro; Lubumbashi – DRC; Ndola, Lusaka – Zambia; Harare- Zimbabwe; Mumbai – In- dia; Guangzhou – China and Dubai – UAE.
“I welcome Tanzanians in Zanzibar at the ceremony to receive our new plane on August 19, 2024 ( tomorrow) at AAKIA starting at 4.00 am.
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This is another indication of commitment by the Sixth Phase government under President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan to move the country forward in development,” Prof Mbarawa said.
The transport minister further explained that receipt of the new long-range air- craft enables ATCL to have a total of 16 aircraft, of which 15 aircraft are new and have been purchased as a result of ATCL’s revitalisation programme that began in 2016 and one aircraft is old.
He said that seven out of the 15 planes were purchased during the Sixth Phase Government under Dr Samia and that another plane ‘Dash 8-Q400 aircraft’ has been purchased by the government and is expected to arrive in the country, in the middle of next year.
