Tanzania’s first dedicated cargo jet is set to be delivered to the Air Tanzania Company Limited by June 2023, according to U.S. plane manufacturer, Boeing.
The cargo jet, which is a B767 Freighter, is one of four Boeing planes ordered by the Tanzanian government in 2021 for a reported cost of $726 million. The other three orders include a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is considered by some to be the most modern plane in the world, and two 737 MAX jets.
Sightings of the cargo plane at the Boeing Everett factory in Washington D.C., showed it bearing a registration number 5h-TCO. Once delivered, the jet will be based at Kilimanjaro International Airport, which reports say, will become a cargo operations hub in Tanzania.
ATCL’s air fleet currently consists of 12 planes, three of which are grounded due to engine issues which have yet to be fixed. The damaged planes, include two Airbus A220 planes which have a passenger capacity between 120 and 160 passengers.
The two Airbus planes have been grounded since 2022, partly due to Airbus’s alleged reluctance to provide new engines for the planes so they can be repaired, which is in turn causing losses to ATCL.
The ordered Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, and 737 MAX jets can both carry over 200 passengers. Once the planes are also delivered, they can smoothen out ATCL’s operations, and curb losses.
