TANZANIA: Air Tanzania Receives First 787 Dreamliner

Boeing's first 787 Dreamliner for Air Tanzania was received at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam on Sunday

The aircraft is part of Air Tanzania’s plan to grow its operations across Africa as well as to international destinations.

The brand new 787 is the first widebody airplane to join Tanzania’s flag carrier’s fleet, the manufacturers said in a press release.

We are very proud to take delivery of this Boeing 787 Dreamliner,Air Tanzania CEO Ladislaus Matindi, said.

We believe this is the perfect aircraft to realise our ambition to connect with the rest of the world through the initiation of intercontinental flights.

I am delighted to be here today with Boeing and Rolls-Royce to celebrate this important milestone.

President John Magufuli was at Julius Nyerere International Airport - JNIA to receive the aircraft.

Thousands of Tanzanians braved the cold and wet weather to witness the arrival of the plane.



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TANZANIA: Swissport Gets New CEO, Mr. Mrisho Yassin

Long serving CEO Mr. Gaudence Temu, who oversaw the transition of the company into what it is today over the past 22 years, is retiring at the end of November and an internal succession was put into place.

Swissport Tanzania, a publicly quoted company at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, is the largest ground handling company offering services at Tanzania's key airports.

Mr. Mrisho Yassin, until now Chief Finance Officer, was appointed by the Board of Directors to become the company's new CEO.

Swissport, inspite of growing competition, has been profitable for a number of years and has invested heavily in the recent past in new equipment and storage facilities to cater for the growing number of airlines flying into Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.

All of the main international airlines are handled by Swissport while some locally incorporated airlines have been granted the status of self handling.

At JNIA is a new terminal building nearing completion, finally allowing international passenger traffic to move from the overcrowded arrival and departure facility to a state of the art terminal, allowing for further growth.

TANZANIA: Visa Processing At Julius Nyerere International Airport So Slow

The Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, has directed responsible authorities at Terminal II of Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) to speed-up processing of visas to check delays in issuance of the permits for foreigners arriving at the airfield.

Prof Mbarawa made the directive in Dar es Salaam yesterday after a tour at the three terminals of the country's main gateway for air transport. "It takes more than one hour for foreign passengers to process the visas and this is not healthy considering that some of them have travelled for long distances covering up to 18 hours," the minister noted with concern.

The minister observed firsthand how the arrival lounge at Terminal II was crowded with passengers who were waiting for their entry permits to be processed. An official with the Immigration Department put the blame on the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) for the delays since it had only two bank clerks to receive payments for handing out the visas.

"We have six counters with immigration officers charged with the task but NMB has only two tellers," the official informed the minister. However, Minister Mbarawa urged the responsible parties against trading blames and instead work jointly to address the challenge.

"All responsible parties including the Customs Department, the Immigration Department and the bank should chart out ways of solving the problem", he instructed. The visit by Prof Mbarawa was also a follow-up on directives by President John Magufuli in May, this year, where he instructed that two security scanners at Terminal I which were defective should be fixed. "I have been informed that the machines have been fixed and now operating.

The other issue I was following up was theft of jet fuel which I was told it has been curbed," he explained. On the other hand, Prof Mbarawa was delighted with the ongoing construction of Terminal III at JNIA, expressing optimism that the multi-million project will be completed by December, next year.

"The execution of the project is now at between 42 and 45 per cent, upon completion the new terminal will have the capacity to accommodate 21 planes at once including the largest passenger aircraft Airbus A 380," the minister noted.

The Acting Director General of Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA), Engineer George Sambali, told journalists during the tour that 45 per cent of international air transport traffic from Tanzania is taken by other countries due to lack of modern airport and thriving national carrier.

"We would be able to capture the international traffic once Terminal III is completed and when Air Tanzania is patched-up," he noted. Eng Sambali said plans were underway to upgrade other airstrips in the country to provide links to the JNIA from other countries in the region.

Regarding theft of jet fuel, the official said the airport authority had beefed up security through security camera to monitor movements of people in the airfield.

TANZANIA: Nyerere Airport Radar Is Outdated

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has appealed for the purchase of a new surveillance radar as the lifespan of the only one in operation at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam has ended.

The TCAA Acting Chief of Air Traffic Management, Mr Gideon Msheri, said yesterday in Dar es Salaam that the radar was purchased in 2002 and its lifespan period is 10 years.

"The radar, which is the only airport surveillance instrument in the country, has been in operation for almost 14 years since it was purchased in 2002," he said, adding that the cost of getting a new one ranges between 12bn/- and 16bn/-.

The authority said that it was also essential for the country to consider having at least one radar at the four biggest international airports to ensure full surveillance.

According to the TCCA Director General, Mr Hamza Johari, the authority has set aside 8.8m/- in the 2016/17 financial year and the previous year the same amount (8.8m/-) for the purchase of the new surveillance radar. A surveillance radar is a system at airports used to detect and display the position of aircraft in the terminal areas.

In another development, the DG assured the public that the country's airports were safe following massive measures undertaken by the authority to improve aviation services. He said in the international security audit carried out in Tanzania last year, the TCCA scored 86 per cent effective implementation on security matters.

"I just want to assure the public that our aviation industry is very efficient, safe and secure. We are, invariably, working towards greater improvement," he noted.

In another development, the TCAA boss said the authority has plans to ensure they work to support the national strategic plan that aims at making Tanzania a middle-income country. He said the authority has planned a revenue collection target of 52bn/- where they would contribute 7bn/- to the National GDP. He said in the last financial year, TCAA contributed 5.2bn/- to the GDP.

TANZANIA: Etihad Airways Lands In Tanzania

ETIHAD Airbus A320 aircraft receives a ceremonial water cannon salute as it taxis at Terminal II of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday after it launched daily flights to Tanzania

ETIHAD Airways, the Abu Dhabi-registered airline, launched its daily flights to Tanzania on Tuesday, adding to the list a growing of Middle East carriers eyeing Tanzanian and African airspace.

The airline touched down at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday and received a ceremonial water cannon salute. It will be operating daily nonstop flights connecting the business city of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Dar es Salaam.

The daily flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft and set to attract more passengers from Tanzania and its neighbouring states. Etihad Airways joins the list of a growing number of Middle East registered airlines lobbying East African skies.

Dar es Salaam will be Etihad Airways’ 110th destination globally and its 11th destination in Africa and the Indian Ocean, reports from the airline’s head office in Abu Dhabi said. The flights will be connecting the Tanzanian capital with 45 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, North and Southern Asia and Australia through daily flights, the Etihad report said.

Taking advantage of the fast-growing air connection between East Africa and the Middle East, Tanzania is lobbying tourists and travel trade investments from the Gulf States and the rest of the Arab World.

A team of tourist business stakeholders and marketing officials from Tanzania visited Dubai and other Middle East states last year, looking for potential tourists and investors in tourism from the Gulf States and invited them to invest in Tanzania’s fast-growing tourist industry, taking advantage of the Middle East airlines new routes.

Tanzania Tourist Board had launched marketing campaigns to attract visitors from the Gulf States through these airlines. Hotel and accommodations, hunting and camping safaris are areas of tourist investment and the Tanzania Tourist Board is looking to market them in the Gulf States.

Although the number of Arab tourists to East Africa is not as big as the European and American holidaymakers, there has been a notable number of hunting tourists from the Middle East to Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. About 15,000 tourists from the Gulf visit East Africa every year.

Although small in numbers, East African nations are taking advantage of the Middle East-registered airlines to be a lifeline for Arab-speaking holidaymakers. Airlines registered in Middle Eastern states that are flying to Tanzania include Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Turkish Airlines and Fly Dubai, which are the most competitive over Tanzania’s airspace.

Middle East-registered airlines have taken over the Tanzanian airspace from the traditional European-based airlines which had pulled out their flights between key European cities and Dar es Salaam.

Among European carriers that pulled their flights out of Tanzania are SAS (Scandinavian), Sabena, Air France, Lufthansa, Aeroflot (Russia), Alitalia and British Airways.