By Special Correspondent, Montreal, Dar es Salaam
TANZANIANS metaphorically
have nothing but a broad smile on their collective face this festive Christmas
season as their Government under President of the Fifth Phase Government of the
United Republic, His Excellency Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, led the nation to mark another milestone; receiving
the first Airbus 220/300 Series aircraft to have ever touched down on African
soil.
The arrival of the new
aircraft, is making the total of fifth to arrive in the country during the
three years of proven success story of H.E President John Pombe Magufuli. This
will then make the United
Republic the first proud
owner/operator of this special make of Airbus planes on the vast African
continent.
 |
| President Magufuli and other senior leaders aboard the A220-300 Airbus |
Currently, Air Tanzania is
busy with a comprehensive fleet renewal. The country is also set to receive
another holiday season present, Airbus 220 - 300 Series aircraft in January, 2019.
The company expects a further Bombardier DHC8-Q402 and one Boeing 787-8
Dreamliner to be delivered in 2019.
Earlier this year, the
airline received two brand new Bombardier DHC8-Q402NG, a brand new Boeing
787-Dreamliner, which is currently used for short domestic flights and international
routes.
The plane touched down at the
country's major international gate way, Dar es Salaam, at 15:30 hrs on Sunday
from Montreal in Canada, via Accra, Ghana.
H. E President John Pombe
Magufuli was the guest of honor who graced the event to receive the plane that
will be leased to Air Tanzania Corporation Limited (ATCL).The new aircraft
becomes the fifth among seven aircrafts that have been bought by the
administration of the Fifth Phase Government that took office in November 2015.
After it touched down, the
plane received a water salute from two firefighting engines that were spraying
arcs of water over it, as a sign of respect, honour and gratitude.
In his speech, President John
Pombe Magufuli, congratulated all Tanzanians for paying taxes, which eventually
are able to do all this!
"Let's be patriots, this
is for the benefit of our nation. The economy of our country goes well, let's
maintain our peace! We are blessed to have many resources, Tanzania is rich,"
the President said.
With bringing new airplanes,
President John Pombe Magufuli, said that the Fifth Phase Government is reviving
ATCL's hangar specifically for doing aircraft major maintenance in Kilimanjaro
region.
"We promised to
strengthen transport services, and in these three years of the Fifth Phase
Government, we have implemented this promise and it is by doing major things in
the earth, in the sky and even in the marine," Dr. John Pombe Magufuli
noted. Tanzania is also renovating and upgrading more than 11 national airports
in multi-billion project that include the Terminal III in Dar es Salaam.
This then makes the United
Republic the first proud owner/operator of this special make of Airbus planes
on the vast African continent with the capacity of carrying 132 passengers, and
has the capacity of flying non stop directly for six and a half hours.
With new fleets on its
hangars, Tanzania has already seen the impact, the number of passengers flying
with Air Tanzania has jumped from 5,600 to 34,000 passengers per month.
Comments
Post a Comment