Aviation stands to be Tanzania’s greatest source of investment, as the industry is considered to be one of the most preferred routes to enter the country.
Via data from the US Government’s International Trade Division, there has been a 62% increase in air passengers from 2.1 million in 2010 to 2.5 million in 2015 (these figures include internal air transportation).
According to African Development Bank, Tanzania hosts 368 airports managed by Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA), wherea58 airports are in mainland and more than 300 private airstrips in Tanzania which are under mining companies and tour operator’s
As a country with the largest growing economy in Africa, Tanzania has only 3 international airports: the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar Es Salaam, the commercial capital, the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), and the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) in Zanzibar.
According to the US ITA also indicates there are 21 airlines that are operating currently at the JNIA, the busiest and largest airport in Tanzania. All that is prone to striking changes, as Tanzanian President Hon. John Joseph Magufuli places stern commitment to restore its lost aviation glory. This ultimately may impact Tanzania’s associating sectors to aviation such as tourism, trade, investment, labor supply, productivity, and consumerism.
Expanding Aviation Infrastructure
Since 2016 after being sworn in, President Magufuli has led his quest for regaining Tanzania’s aviation supremacy swiftly. Pursuing the improvement of more than 10 airports in Tanzania and revitalizing Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) the nation’s flagship airline.
The current government has vested its utmost attention in regaining its aviation glory, by channeling billions of shillings in building new and improving airport structures and installing state-of-the-art aviation technological gear across the country, aimed to stimulate tourism and investment.
The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) is implementing a Radar installation project across 4 sites (Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA), Songwe Airport, Mwanza Airport and Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA))in the country since 2018, with 63 billion shillings on the mark, that will tremendously boost aviation, whereas with radar surveillance, security will be upgraded resulting in more traffic attraction for Tanzania airports.
In July 1st, when visiting Songwe Airport, the Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Eng. Isack Kamwelwe said that, the project will enable the entire Tanzanian air space to be covered with radar surveillance, thus enhance safety and security which will attract more aircraft and thus increase revenues which will be generated from air navigation services. He added that the government will expand the airport’s runway to accommodate larger planes such as the Dreamliner.
On August 1, 2019, President Magufuli opened a third-terminal building at JNIA, which stands to be one modernized aviation structures in Tanzania, anticipated to serve more than 6 million travelers per year. The terminal that took 6 years to erect has cost Tanzania 788.6 billion shillings (USD 342 million) to put in place.
During the opening, President Magufuli pointed out that; the third terminal would attract and expand the economy, including local’s securing jobs and investing in subsidiary spheres such as recreational and shuttle services.
However, President Magufuli drove home promising facts behind the aviation comeback. “The government is expanding the air transport sector, through buying aircraft and expanding infrastructures, whereby the government is planning to renovate and build 15 airports countrywide, including the international airport in Msalato-Dodoma. All that is to reinforce the air transportation’s safety and speed, which will boost the GDP through its users, who have increased by 12 percent annually” he added.
Present Tanzania aviation resources give Tanzania a leverage slate, towards accessing global business and tourism. In comparison to past decades, implementing a modern fleet will surely attract visitors to the country, and given the government’s push to host international conferences and trade shows, it will be with no time that Tanzania will be able to generate the necessary resources in this sector.
ATCL’s Fleet
“The Wings of Kilimanjaro” has been a remarkable slogan aimed at attracting visitors to Tanzania. Since, 2016 President Magufuli ushered in a new wave, leading to the revival of the national carrier. This began with the purchase of two new Bombardier Q400 (with a carrying capacity of 76 people), fitting the modern 21-century aviation standards.
At the moment ATCL has a fleet of six aircraft including three Bombardier Q400, two Airbus A220-300 and a Dreamliner Boeing 787-8.
In July 18th, President Magufuli was noted during his public rally in Dodoma that, three more aircrafts will be join the ATCL fleet, showing promising signs of attracting billions of reveue from cargo and flight charges from the competitive aviation industry.
Air Transport Action Group data, indicate that, almost 40 percent of tourist travel by air. Whereas, aviation has pumped billions into the Tanzania tourism sector, hence improving it present a viable strategy in attracting more visitors.
Tanzania’s International Aviation Accreditation
ATCL has recently secured the International Air Transport Association (IATA) International Occupation Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate, which is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess operational management of an airline. The certification could be a major win for ATCL in restoring its credit in the competitive airline industry.
Also, JNIA has been rated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as the number one ranked airport in East Africa for civil aviation security.
The two accreditation++ stand a leeway marker for Tanzania to re-engage itself in the sector. As a capital-intensive business, productivity per worker in the air transport industry is very high, at three and a half times the average for other sectors
