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The year 2022 concluded strongly for the aviation industry, with passenger and freight volume exceeding pre-Covid levels.
According to Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) figures, freight handled last year grew by 32% above pre-pandemic levels to 35,130.83 tonnes, while passengers transported by airlines increased by over 2% to 5.723 million. When it comes to airplane traffic, it is still 15.4% below pre-pandemic levels.
According to the TCAA, when comparing 2022 data to those from the previous year, the number of passengers using the country's airports increased by 49.23%compared to 3.835 million in 2021. In contrast, the tonnage of cargo carried in 2022 climbed by 13.42% over the previous year's total of 30,973.75.
During the evaluation period, aircraft movements increased by 28.5% to 198,115 from 154,168.
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Ladislaus Matindi, managing director of Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), linked the excellent result with a push to sell Tanzania through the Royal Tour film. Mr. Matindi further stated that the strong performance reflected a shift in the mindset that air travel was exclusive to the wealthy.
Precision Air managing director Patrick Mwanri credited the present aviation performance to the global market reopening after nearly two years of closure and travel restrictions.
“All countries have now opened up their borders and eased the travel restrictions, which allowed more passengers to travel freely,” Mr. Mwanri noted.
“Once other constraints brought by the aftermath of the pandemic are addressed, we hope for a better future,” he added.
Mr. Mwanri suggested that long lines of maintenance operations from the original equipment manufacturer be addressed in order to sustain the existing impressive performance. He also demanded that key airplane components be manufactured quickly and that fines for late payments during the epidemic be waived. Attempts to obtain feedback from the Ministry of Works and Transport were useless.