Tanzania Government relaxes restrictions on international flights under certain conditions

The Tanzania Government has relaxed some restrictions on international flights to allow some categories of flight movements amid growing demand for the service, according to a news report by The Citizen.

The relaxation criteria include repatriation flights, operations related to humanitarian aid, medical and relief flights, technical landings where passengers do not disembark, and other safety-related operations.

Earlier the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) had suspended both scheduled and non-scheduled international passenger flights into and out of the country on April 11 in an effort to curb imported cases of coronavirus.

The regulator's director-general, Hamza Johari said, "We have been receiving a number of applications for repatriation flights that is why the government has decided to relax some restrictions."

Previously, only cargo flights were allowed on condition that crew members be quarantined at designated places by the government at their own cost for the duration of their stay.

According to the regulator, before the relaxation of the conditions, it could take up to two weeks for the airline to get the permit for repatriation flights and other related operations.

Till May 8, United States, Turkey, UK, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Ethiopia had arranged special flights and successfully brought back home their citizens who were stuck in Tanzania.

Also, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL)'s chartered flights will leave Tanzania for India next Thursday to bring home Tanzania nationals stranded in the south Asian country amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.