ATCL planes set to arrive

Dar es Salaam. Two new planes bought for Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) are expected to arrive in the country next month.

The Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, said yesterday that the planes bought from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier would arrive on September 17 and 25.

“If all goes well, we expect the planes to arrive on September 17 and 25, and will start operating after a few days,” he said after opening training for pilot trainers at the National Institute of Transport (NIT).

However, the minister declined to say whether the government had completed payment for the Q400 turboprop airliners.

“What I can tell you is that the planes will arrive next month...we have a firm agreement with the Canadian firm,” Prof Mbarawa told reporters.

The purchase of the planes is part of a wider government plan to revive ATCL, which has in recent years lurched from one crisis to another. The struggling carrier earlier this month advertised dozens of posts as it prepares to resume scheduled flights on a number of routes.

President John Magufuli promised when campaigning ahead of last year’s General Election that reviving ATCL would be a priority for his government.

Earlier, the NIT principal, Prof Zacharia Mwaginilwa, told the minister that two trainers would be trained through a desktop flight training simulator at NIT’s School of Aviation Technology and Air Transport. They will then train students aspiring to become pilots.

“We are grateful for the support that your ministry and the government in general have been according us. We will continue to train students on the modern aspects of transport,” Prof Mwaginilwa said.