mwanakijiji
12-18-2008, 06:42 PM
By Orton Kiishweko
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) as the Government held a crisis meeting yesterday over the national airline�s predicament.
A communication announcing the suspension was issued on Monday from the IATA East Africa regional office in Nairobi and sent to all travel agents of the association�s member airlines.
The news filtered in yesterday as Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda held a meeting last evening with the ATCL board in his office in Dar es Salaam.
ATCL managing director David Mattaka confirmed the meeting with Mr Pinda when reached for comment last evening, but declined to divulge what was discussed.
�The board has met with the Prime Minister, but I�m not in a position to reveal what has been discussed. The board will issue a statement in due course,� Mr Mattaka said in a telephone interview.
Impeccable sources, however, told The Citizen that Mr Pinda wanted an explanation from the ATCL board on what was happening and plans put in place to surmount the hurdles.
Mr Pinda also inquired whether the airline would be in a position to resume operations after receiving from TCAA and eventually IATA. Sources said the board enumerated what would be needed in terms of financial support to resume operations.
Efforts to reach the Prime Minister for comment on steps the Government was planning to take following the meeting were futile.
The decision by IATA, which has 230 member airlines, is likely to compound the troubles of the national carrier.
The suspension means ATCL cannot deal with IATA members as it struggles to fulfil the conditions for re-admission.
Mr Mattaka, however, said the announcement was a normal procedure that was bound to happen following the suspension of ATCL last week by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA). TCAA grounded ATCL over safety concerns.
The IATA statement was issued by the regional manager for East Africa, Mr Hassim Pondor, to all Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) agents. BSP is a worldwide systemwhich facilitates the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA-accredited passenger sales agents, as well as improve financial control and cash flow for BSP airlines.
"We would like to inform you that IATA has suspended Air Tanzania with immediate effect. The airline has ceased operations due to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority withdrawing their AOC," the IATA statement said.
This could be viewed as a set back shock to the air whose board members have been holding crisis meetings since Monday this week to set in motion a number of interventions and strategies that would bail out the cash strapped national flag carrier.
TCAA suspended the national carrier�s operations and withdrew the airworthiness certificate after it was established that ATCL had failed to meet the new International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
IATA is a 60-year-old international trade body by a group of airlines which represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general. Currently, IATA represents about 230 airlines and comprises 93 per cent of scheduled international air traffic.
It was still not clear yesterday whether the national carrier would resume operations within the 10 days promised by Mr Mattaka last week.
IATA conducted a safety audit last year and issued a one-year ultimatum to ATCL, to rectify the safety glitches and that period expired this November before a number of the same problems had yet to be solved.
IATA recommends practices as the benchmark for global safety management in airlines and has the mandate to do an Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and give a certificate which is valid for 2 years.
My Take:
This is shameful; the situation in ATCL has been dire for over a year! Inakera kuwa viongozi wetu wanaamua kumpelekea mgonjwa uji, wakati kashapelekwa mochwari! Tumewaambia mgonjwa anaumwa, tumewaambia hali yake mbaya, tukawaonesha na vipimo vya hali hiyo mbaya.. wakatudharau, sasa leo wanaitishana hospitali kumhudumia mgonjwa ambaye tayari kashatangazwa na Daktari kuwa "keshatutoka"?
Walikuwa wapi kwa mwaka mzima huu?
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) as the Government held a crisis meeting yesterday over the national airline�s predicament.
A communication announcing the suspension was issued on Monday from the IATA East Africa regional office in Nairobi and sent to all travel agents of the association�s member airlines.
The news filtered in yesterday as Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda held a meeting last evening with the ATCL board in his office in Dar es Salaam.
ATCL managing director David Mattaka confirmed the meeting with Mr Pinda when reached for comment last evening, but declined to divulge what was discussed.
�The board has met with the Prime Minister, but I�m not in a position to reveal what has been discussed. The board will issue a statement in due course,� Mr Mattaka said in a telephone interview.
Impeccable sources, however, told The Citizen that Mr Pinda wanted an explanation from the ATCL board on what was happening and plans put in place to surmount the hurdles.
Mr Pinda also inquired whether the airline would be in a position to resume operations after receiving from TCAA and eventually IATA. Sources said the board enumerated what would be needed in terms of financial support to resume operations.
Efforts to reach the Prime Minister for comment on steps the Government was planning to take following the meeting were futile.
The decision by IATA, which has 230 member airlines, is likely to compound the troubles of the national carrier.
The suspension means ATCL cannot deal with IATA members as it struggles to fulfil the conditions for re-admission.
Mr Mattaka, however, said the announcement was a normal procedure that was bound to happen following the suspension of ATCL last week by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA). TCAA grounded ATCL over safety concerns.
The IATA statement was issued by the regional manager for East Africa, Mr Hassim Pondor, to all Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) agents. BSP is a worldwide systemwhich facilitates the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA-accredited passenger sales agents, as well as improve financial control and cash flow for BSP airlines.
"We would like to inform you that IATA has suspended Air Tanzania with immediate effect. The airline has ceased operations due to the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority withdrawing their AOC," the IATA statement said.
This could be viewed as a set back shock to the air whose board members have been holding crisis meetings since Monday this week to set in motion a number of interventions and strategies that would bail out the cash strapped national flag carrier.
TCAA suspended the national carrier�s operations and withdrew the airworthiness certificate after it was established that ATCL had failed to meet the new International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
IATA is a 60-year-old international trade body by a group of airlines which represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general. Currently, IATA represents about 230 airlines and comprises 93 per cent of scheduled international air traffic.
It was still not clear yesterday whether the national carrier would resume operations within the 10 days promised by Mr Mattaka last week.
IATA conducted a safety audit last year and issued a one-year ultimatum to ATCL, to rectify the safety glitches and that period expired this November before a number of the same problems had yet to be solved.
IATA recommends practices as the benchmark for global safety management in airlines and has the mandate to do an Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and give a certificate which is valid for 2 years.
My Take:
This is shameful; the situation in ATCL has been dire for over a year! Inakera kuwa viongozi wetu wanaamua kumpelekea mgonjwa uji, wakati kashapelekwa mochwari! Tumewaambia mgonjwa anaumwa, tumewaambia hali yake mbaya, tukawaonesha na vipimo vya hali hiyo mbaya.. wakatudharau, sasa leo wanaitishana hospitali kumhudumia mgonjwa ambaye tayari kashatangazwa na Daktari kuwa "keshatutoka"?
Walikuwa wapi kwa mwaka mzima huu?