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Dar es Salaam – President John Magufuli yesterday revealed three reasons why his government is relaunching Air-Tanzania (ATCL).
Dr. Magufuli was speaking at Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) prior to the arrival of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner purchased by the government for the national carrier.
He said the decision to revive the national carrier has been informed by the need to boost Tanzania's reputation.
"It is shameful for a country rich in natural resources like Tanzania not to own commercial aircraft, we wanted to remove this shame," he said.
The second reason, said Dr. Magufuli, was to bring ATCL closer. "Before boarding the Bombardier-Q400, it was very expensive to get to Bukoba … It took at least 1 million shillings (of Dar) to Bukoba, but with the ATCL Bombardier, it needed at least 1 million shillings. now costs a maximum of 400,000 shillings
Among the leaders present were Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, Chief Secretary John Kijazi, Finance Minister Philip Mpango and Minister of Works , Transport and Communications Isack Kamwelwe. It has already delivered four aircraft to the state-owned ATCL – and will deliver two CS300 airliners from Bombardier Aerospace to Canada in November. Another Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will be delivered in 2020.
Revealing that the third reason for the revival of ATCL is to boost Tanzanian tourism, Dr. Magufuli said that Tanzania only welcomed 1 , 3 million tourists last year. 19659011] "We made an analysis and established that the countries with the planes receive the greatest number of tourists," said the president citing Morocco (12 million tourists a year), South Africa (10 , 2 million) and Egypt (10.1 million). "We hope the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will increase the number of tourist arrivals in Tanzania … The arrival of another Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in 2020 will further improve the situation," he said. said Dr. Magufuli.
ATCL The data shows that since the government delivered the Bombardier Q400s, its share of the domestic market has increased from 2.5% to 24%.
The airline now serves 12 Tanzanian destinations, up from three -half half ars ago. In addition, ATCL currently carries more than 21,000 passengers per month, compared with just 4,700.
President Magufuli congratulated ATCL management for these achievements – but cautioned against complacency .
"I congratulate you on the achievements already made. continue to grow so that you can become a force to be taken into account at the regional and international levels in aviation issues … "he said.
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