Tanzania moves to join 34 countries in Single African Air Transport Market

The move will offer immense air transportation business opportunities for the country to generate more income while providing an opportunity for Tanzania’s airlines to conduct both passenger and cargo business within the African continent without restrictions.

Director General at the Civil Tanzania Aviation Authority (TCAA) Hamza Johari said during an awareness workshop in Dar es Salaam on March 25 that discussions are ongoing to consider the opportunities and proper regulations before a final decision.

“As a country, we were out of this kind of business purposely to increase and bolster investment in our airlines. Now we see that it is the right time,” he was quoted by Daily News.

The SAATM is a project of the African Union to create a single market for air transport in Africa and is supposed to allow significant freedom of air transport in the African Continent, Daily News reports.

A total of 34 countries have signed up to the SAATM including Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea (Bissau), Guinea, and Kenya. Others are Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Chad, Togo and Zimbabwe.