Aviation authority dismisses claims of denying entry permit to Fastjet’s aircraft
Fastjet’s executive chairman Lawrence Masha
What you need to know:
Just a few days after the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority issued a 28-day notice to Fastjet Tanzania to put its house in order before it is allowed to continue operating in Tanzania, the authority has dismissed claims that it denied the company a permit to bring in a Boeing 737-500 from South Africa.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has dismissed claims purported to be made by Fastjet Airline Ltd (Tanzania) that the authority denied it permit to bring in a leased Boeing 737-500 from South Africa until the company paid all its debts.
TCAA director general Hamza Johari made the dismissal on Thursday, December 27 in the city during a press conference.
“The claims are unfounded. We did not reject the request submitted by Fastjet Company on December 22 regarding issuing a permit for the aircraft’s entry into the country. We received the letter on the matter on December 24, just a day before Christmas,” he said.
On Wednesday, Fastjet’s executive chairman Lawrence Masha, who owns 68 per cent of the airline’s shares, told The Citizen that plane was denied entrance permit in what he described as lack of support from the government.
“For now, it’s really a loss to miss the entry permit,” said Mr Masha without giving any numbers in relation to the said losses.
Reacting to the claim, Mr Johari said the authority will read the latter and if all the requirements are met, then the aircraft will be issued with the required permit.
Mr Johari said, “We want locals to invest in the aviation sector so that we can have competition. We call on Fastjet to follow the regulations if they are serious and want to do business in the country.”
