ATCL’s flight to repatriate Tanzanians stranded in India scheduled for Thursday

Dar es Salaam. Air Tanzania Company Ltd (ATLC) said on Saturday May 9, 2020 it is expecting to operate its special flight to India to repatriate Tanzanians who were stranded in the Asian country following the coronavirus outbreak.

Countries around the world imposed travel restrictions to curb spreading of the pandemic, leading to grounding of most of the global airlines.

According to the Tanzanian High Commission in India, some 405 people had registered for the repatriation by Saturday following the announcement to do so.

ATCL managing director Ladislaus Matindi said the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner would leave Tanzania for India in the evening of May 14 and return home the following day in the morning.  

 “Tanzanians living in India have rented our aircraft to return them home,” Mr Matindi told The Citizen by phone.

 All returning residents entering Tanzania will be subjected to a mandatory isolation for 14 days at their own cost at designated facilities identified by the government, according to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA).

After 14 days of mandatory quarantine, passengers with no symptoms of Covid-19, will be allowed to leave the facilities immediately after registering their personal information for future follow-up.       

Effective April 11 this year, TCAA announced a suspension of both scheduled and non-scheduled international passenger flights into and out of the country, in an effort to lower coronavirus imported cases. 

Cargo flights werer allowed on condition that crew members be quarantined at designated places by the government at their own cost for the duration of their stay.