Tanzania resumes SA flights after legal settlement

Air Tanzania Company Ltd (ATCL) is set to resume flights between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg this month following settlement of a long-standing dispute, The Citizen (Tanzania) reports. Initially, ATCL will operate flights five times a week on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The carrier’s return to southern African skies comes five years after the impounding of the airline’s Airbus A220-300 in Johannesburg. This followed an order by the Gauteng High Court amid a protracted legal battle between the Tanzanian Government and retired farmer Hermanus Steyn. At the time, Tanzania had landing slots at OR Tambo Airport, with four direct flights operating from Dar es Salaam. However, it was later determined that the court that issued the impounding order lacked jurisdiction. Steyn’s lawyer, Roger Wakefield of Werksmans Attorneys, previously stated that his client was owed $33m, including interest, in compensation from the Tanzanian Government after his land was expropriated decades ago. The farmer was awarded this compensation through arbitration, with the Airbus being chosen for seizure because it was directly owned by the Tanzanian Government and its value aligned with the amount owed to Steyn. ‘This resumption has been highly anticipated, and we are thrilled to finally address the demand for direct flights to Johannesburg,’ said ATCL’s Ladislaus Matindi.