ATCL seeks to end flight cancellations
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Matindi said currently the company has few planes and in some incidence the planes become faulty, which could force them to either delay or cancel flights, but should be communicated back immediately
Dar es Salaam. Air Tanzania Corporation Ltd (ATCL) is looking into ways to tackle the challenges of flight delays and cancellations, which have been experienced rather frequently by the state airline.
Speaking at the 4th ATCL workers council meeting over the weekend, the corporation’s managing director, Ladislaus Matindi, expressed dissatisfaction over the frequent delays and cancellations of flights and the accompanying poor communication to passengers.
The national carrier does not have enough equipment currently - which at times forces it to either delay or cancel flights - especially when a technical fault occurs, according to Mr Matindi. But, when there is a problem, communication to passengers should be made immediately, he directed.
“We are working to improve the situation and to ensure we have our flights right on schedule but in cases of any emergency we should communicate back on time to our passengers,” he said.
In another development, Mr Matindi announced that ATCL was able to transport at least 59 tonnes of cargo in its recent flights to Mumbai, India, in the past month.
According to him, when flights to China are launched, ATCL will be able to transport both cargo and passengers. This would be a huge milestone for the airline.
“Currently we transport meat from Mwanza to Dar es Salaam - which is then transferred to other airlines and taken to other parts of the world. The same happens for fish,” he said.
Explaining the achievements that ATCL has made in the past year, he said they have been accorded a certificate for Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by IATA after having met international standards. Noting that attaining the certificate is a landmark achievement, the MD said this would enable ATCL to enter into commercial agreements with other airliners globally for code-sharing.
He further noted that the state air carrier has opened centres in countries and regions where it now operates. ATCL already has managers in Mumbai (India), Lusaka (Zambia), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Johannesburg, South Africa, among others.
