Air Tanzania has made progress in its plan to fly to London by securing three landing slots at the Gatwick airport. The airline intends to fly directly from their hub at Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport via Kilimanjaro to London’s Gatwick airport every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday returning via Kilimanjaro to Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Saturday, and Monday.
If granted permission to fly to the European city, it will be Air Tanzania’s first route into Europe. The air carrier will use the London route as a link to other European and American markets.
The airline is undertaking land rights and landing licenses to allow it to fly into United Kingdom. In addition, Air Tanzania will need to secure European Union safety standards certification. In the meantime, the airline has passed IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a mandatory requirement for airlines planning international flights.
Air TZ will operate their new Boeing B787 Dreamliner thrice a week positioning it to offer an incredible service and dominate the marketplace.
The new route will pile pressure on some loss making airlines in the region currently flying from their hubs in East Africa to the UK as Air Tanzania gains market share at their expense.
Furthermore, it will increase competition to Air Egypt that has been connecting via Cairo and KLM connecting via Amsterdam and Kilimanjaro.
Air Tanzania has in the recent past resumed flights to Moroni, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Harare, and Bujumbura with planned flights to the Far East in Mumbai, Guangzhou, and Bangkok.
