Air Tanzania is planning to launch direct flights between the UK and Tanzania in July 2027.
The airline’s CEO Peter Ulanga announced the flights will operate from London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro International Airport, according to the Africa Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA).
He told the trade body there will be a ‘minimum’ of three flights a week, driving tourism to Tanzania.
“We will also run direct flights to Zanzibar, expanding the tourism potential of that destination from the UK, too,” he said, but the ATTA gave no further details.
He is planning to visit the UK in the autumn to discuss with travel trade representatives ‘their needs and requirements’, said the ATTA.
In addition to a domestic network, Air Tanzania currently flies to China, the Comores, India, the Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates.
It is also planning to add flights to Russia and ‘various EU cities’ are under consideration, according to the ATTA.
The airline announced in March plans to acquire eight new aircraft over the next five years.
Tanzania and Zanzibar’s High Commissioner to the UK, Mbelwa Kairuki, was reported by the ATTA saying: “It has been one of my biggest and most passionate ambitions during my assignment to the UK to see the introduction of a direct flight to my country.”
