Capacity at Tanzania’s largest airport has been significantly increased with the opening of a new terminal.
Dar-es-Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport’s Terminal 3 opened earlier in August by the country’s president, John Magufuli.
The $282 million terminal will be able to handle up to 6 million passengers per year. The new building has eight airbridges to improve efficiency for boarding and disembarking passengers.
The new facility will triple the airport’s annual capacity. Currently, Terminal 1 (domestic) and Terminal 2 (international) can handle around 3 million passengers a year. In 2017, the last year for which figures are available, 2.4 million passengers passed through the airport.
The significant increase in the airport’s passenger-handling abilities from the opening of Terminal 3 is part of an initiative by the Tanzanian government to transform Dar-es-Salaam, the country’s main economic center, into a regional transport hub. Alongside the new terminal, there has been a significant investment in the national carrier, Air Tanzania.
The airline has acquired a Boeing 787-8, with a second scheduled to follow later this year. In December 2018 it became the first African customer for the Airbus A220-300, with two used for domestic and regional services, as well as opening new routes to India and the Middle East. Air Tanzania has also increased its turboprop fleet, acquiring its third De Havilland Dash 8-400 for short-haul sectors.
Source:ATW
