Pride As New Plane Jets In

President John Magufuli on 23 December 2018 received the first A220-300 plane that will be operated by Air Tanzania, as the fifth phase government continues with its efforts to revamp the national carrier. 

Air Tanzania becomes the first African carrier to take delivery of the Airbus A220-300. 

The arrival of the new jetliner brings the total number of new planes purchased by the government to five with two more, including another Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, expected to be delivered in the near future. 

So far, three Bombardier Q400 turboprops and a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner are already operating after being leased by the government to the national carrier. 

The A220-300 jetliners were supposed to be delivered to the government last month, but the manufacturer - Airbus Company asked for some few days more for rigorous testing, inspection and final technical scrutiny and checks. The second A220-300 jetliner was in the final stages of manufacturing in Canada.

With the addition of the A220 in our fleet, we are confident that we will expand our footprint in the growing African markets and beyond, as we unlock additional routes and regain our position as a key player in the African air transport market.

The Airbus A220, previously known as Bombardier CSeries (or C Series), is a family of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range jet airliners marketed by Airbus, but designed and originally built by the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace.

Since assuming the highest country’s office in 2015, President Magufuli vowed to revamp the national carrier through the purchase of new aircrafts. 

With the purchase of the seven aircrafts in less than three years, President Magufuli has shown his critics that nothing is possible in Tanzania, provided there is determination.

The purchase of new aircrafts to boost ATC fleet is one of the government’s deliberate efforts to expand the growing tourism sector as some planes will now be engaged in international flights. 

Preparations are still underway by ATC to start flights to Asia with plans to begin with India and later China before flying to some European destinations and perhaps to Israel in future.