SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS FLIES 1 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 2 DECADES TO AND FROM TANZANIA

Dar es Salaam. South Africa Airways (SAA) has flown almost one million passengers to and from Tanzania during the past two decades, cementing Africa’s only four-star air transport operator as an important partner in Tanzania’s tourism development endeavours.

Tourism is Tanzania’s number one foreign exchange earner with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) figures showing that the country earned $1.999 billion (about Sh3.298 trillion) from the sector during the year to July 2014. Gold earned the country $1.68 billion (about Sh2.77 trillion) during the same period.

The SAA regional General Manager for Africa and Middle East, Mr Aaron Munetsi, said in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that 40 per cent of passengers flying the airline to and from Tanzania are tourists while the remaining are business travellers.

“We have carried almost one million passengers during the past two decades…this constitutes 40 per cent of the tourist business and 60 per cent of business travellers. Our commitment is to enhance trade between Tanzania and South Africa,” Mr Munetsi said at an event where the airline awarded a wide range of stakeholders across the country as it marked 20 years of operations in Tanzania.

The airline, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, was awarded certificates of achievement by travel agencies, tourism and aviation authorities and other stakeholders at a gala held in Dar es Salaam.

SAA started operating in Tanzania with two flights a week two decades ago but to date, it operates 14.