Air Tanzania defies funds blockage crisis in Zim

TINASHE MAKICHI

Air Tanzania is optimistic of hitting gold in Zimbabwe despite the current foreign currency crisis in the country which has seen most airlines struggling to repatriate their funds.

The African airline industry continues to express alarm over the amount of funds blocked by African governments, as airlines on the continent are waiting repatriation of some $670m in earnings as at December 2018.

The governments of Nigeria and Egypt cleared their backlog of blocked funds in 2018 while Zimbabwe, Angola, and Sudan continue to hold the majority of the blocked funds.

In an interview with Business Times, Air Tanzania chief executive, Ladislaus Matindi, said the prevailing foreign currency challenges in Zimbabwe were temporary hence the re-launch of flights between Dar es Salaam and Harare.

“The blockage of funds in Zimbabwe is not an issue that we think will last forever and we have since been informed by the government that they are already working on the issue. So I hope it will be resolved soon. It is not a permanent thing,” Matindi said.

The Minister for Environment, Tourism and Hospitality, Prisca Mupfumira said the government was treating the matter of funds blockage with the attention it deserves.

“We will therefore prioritise foreign currency allocations until the issue is totally resolved,” said Mupfumira.

According to her, the aviation industry plays a critical role and is indispensable, especially for tourism, an industry that depends on reliable and convenient air services to move larger numbers of tourists to a region or country.

It is estimated that just over half of all tourists travel by air. Aviation-related tourism supports 35 million jobs worldwide, thereby contributing more than $800bn to global GDP.

Regionally, the impact of tourism can be even more profound with new air services increasing the propensity to travel. Forecasts from the industry body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), suggest that by 2034, as many as 7.3 billion airline passengers will be travelling globally, more than double the 3.5 billion passengers that travelled by air in 2015.

Mupfumira said the re-introduction of flights on the Harare-Dar es Salaam route, by Air Tanzania, was a confidence-boosting gesture that demonstrated the airline’s pan-African vision and outlook.

“We, therefore, greatly welcome this development in the spirit of the AU’s Agenda 2063 for enhanced intra-Africa trade and tourism,” she said. “African airlines should consider code-sharing arrangements and/or strategic partnerships to promote the growth of Africa’s aviation industry in order to become a major player on the global stage.

“I therefore appeal to Air Tanzania and Air Zimbabwe to work closely together to expand complementary transport links and connectivity while ensuring a safe and efficient air travel,” she added.

In the outlook, Matindi noted that linking Zimbabwe with other countries in the region and West Africa was part of Air Tanzania’s medium to long-term vision.

“Our medium to long-term plan as an airline is to increase frequencies to Zimbabwe and also to other destinations. We are targeting Victoria Falls and other cities in Zimbabwe, and also to connect Zimbabwe to other countries. Soon we will be flying to Zambia, South Africa, and hopefully we will start West Africa soon,” he said.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button