In a bid to restore the confidence of air travellers to Tanzania, the government has extended traffic rights to international airlines to stem a crisis following the recent European Union ban on Tanzania-registered aircraft.

 

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA), in extending freedoms of the air to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airways, said the decision was to safeguard tourism, business continuity and international mobility.“The TCAA has granted additional rights, for a period of six months, to KLM, Ethiopian Airlines and Qatar Airways to support and facilitate local and regional connections to major Tanzanian destinations,” director-general Salim Msangi said in a statement.

The authority assured travellers that the European Union ban on all planes registered in the country did not apply to aircraft certified outside Tanzania.

The assurance came as foreign travellers started to shun air transport in Tanzania, with many cancelling their safaris, a move that Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato) said affected the tourism industry.“This has greatly impacted the industry, as most tourists were refusing to get on planes, even while flying to the national parks, opting for road trips instead,” said Tato chairperson Willy Chambulo.

But he was more concerned about cancelled international flights by tourists who had booked safaris to Tanzania and called on the government to speed up the process of clearing the issue with the EU.

The ban was an indictment of the TCAA, and Msangi says they are taking the necessary measures to ensure seamless movement and constant connectivity to and from all destinations in Tanzania.

He said the EU decision does not affect airlines that are registered outside Tanzania, and pleaded with Tanzania-bound travellers to stop cancelling their bookings.

The authority said Tanzanian operators that have regulatory clearance to partner with internationally registered operators through codeshare or block permit arrangements still allow continued operation within destinations in Tanzania, without disruption.“We take this opportunity to reaffirm that Tanzania remains open and accessible, and the aviation sector continues to function under international safety and regulatory standards. These temporary arrangements are designed to preserve business continuity, investor confidence, and service reliability during this period,” TCAA said.

National carrier Air Tanzania (ATCL) is among airlines banned from flying within the European Union's airspace because of safety concerns.

This decision was based on serious safety concerns identified during assessments conducted by the EU aviation safety experts.

They revealed that civil aviation authorities were unable to ensure compliance with international safety standards for air carriers.

For Suriname and Tanzania, the identified safety shortcomings cover both operational and regulatory areas. A total of 169 airlines are banned from EU skies.

These include a shortage of qualified personnel, ineffective oversight processes in flight operations and airworthiness, and non-compliance with international safety standards by both countries' civil aviation authorities and certified air carriers.

The EU Air Safety List is based on the unanimous opinion of member state aviation safety experts, who met in Brussels from May 13 to 15 2025 under the auspices of the EU Air Safety Committee.

This Committee is chaired by the European Commission with support from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The European Parliament's Transport Committee supported the update. Decisions under the EU Air Safety List are based on international safety standards, and notably the standards decreed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Another 22 airlines certified in Russia, as well as five individual airlines from other states, based on serious safety deficiencies identified: Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran), Fly Baghdad (Iraq) and Iraqi Airways (Iraq) are either banned from operating in the EU or face operational restrictions.

Two additional airlines are subject to operational restrictions and can only fly to the EU with specific aircraft types: Iran Air (Iran) and Air Koryo (Democratic People's Republic of Korea).

Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas insisted that passenger safety remains their top priority.

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