Indian Tourists who are pining to see Tanzania’s pristine beaches, unforgettable wildlife and mesmerizing Mount Kilimanjaro can rejoice now with the direct, non-stop flights between India and Tanzania. Air Tanzania has launched Dara-e salaam- Mumbai, a thrice weekly flight from this week. The first flight, a B787-8 Dreamliner took off on July 18 from Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) to Mumbai. The commencing of direct flights is expected to boost trade and tourism between the two countries. The tourism sector is the biggest foreign exchange earner for Tanzania. Its earnings from tourism rose by 7% last year to around $2.4 billion, with an increase in tourists arrivals, according to government data. Last month, the national carrier launched a direct flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Other international routes covered by Air Tanzania are Bujumbura (Burundi); Entebbe (Uganda); Lusaka (Zambia); and Harare (Zimbabwe).
President John Magufuli has taken a personal interest in the revival of Tanzania’s loss-making state carrier Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL). Tanzanian Government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars for buying eight new planes since 2016. It has announced its decision to buy two new Airbus jets and one plane from De Havilland Canada as part of a fleet expansion plan for the national flag carrier. The airline’s existing fleet includes one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, two Airbus A220-300 jets and three DHC Dash 8-400 aircraft.
