Air Tanzania is on its way to taking to the skies once again and has purchased 3rd plane for $32 million
Two years ago, Tanzania developed a programme to revitalise its national carrier — Air Tanzania by planning to purchase six new aircraft between 2016 and 2018.
On Monday, President John Magufuli received its third aircraft of the six that his administration plans to acquire in order to revive State-owned Air Tanzania.
The plane, a Bombardier Q-400, touched ground at 5.07 PM, at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) and was welcomed by a water canon salute in an event witnessed by President Magufuli.
"We will receive three more aircrafts. This time, jets. We will have a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and two Bombardier C300 series. They will arrive before the end of this year,” President Magufuli said on Monday.
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The Tanzania government purchased the plane for $32 million from Canada's Bombardier Aerospace.
Two years ago, Tanzania developed a programme to revitalise its national carrier — Air Tanzania by planning to purchase six new aircraft between 2016 and 2018, payment of debts and provision of start-up capital, improvement and modernisation of business systems.
Also read: THOUSANDS OF KENYANS ARE TROOPING TO TANZANIA DESPITE FROSTY RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO NATIONS
Air Tanzania was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) on September in 1977 after the collapse of the regional East African Airways.
Since then, the airline had been operating at a loss and depending on government subsidies.
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The airline lost all its regional and international routes after grounding its aircraft which included Nairobi, Johannesburg, Jeddah, Milan, Frankfurt, London and Mumbai.
The president also laid a foundation stone for installation of four radar systems in the capital Dar es Salaam.
"The project will also facilitate search and rescue operations in case of emergency or air accidents. This will enable the country meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)'s standards and guidelines," TCAA director-general Hamsa Johari said.
The radars are to be installed at the JNIA, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza and Songwe airports within 18 months.
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The project is part of the Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) strategy to improve civil aviation in the county.
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