Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, today enhanced its presence in East Africa with the launch of new services between Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, and Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital.

On touching down at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, the inaugural flight was welcomed with a water-cannon salute, and a troupe of traditional Tanzanian dancers.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the auspicious occasion, which was attended by Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka, permanent secretary, Tanzanian Ministry of Transport; Dr Adelhelm James Meru, permanent secretary Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources;  Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk, Tanzanian Ambassador to the UAE; Abdullah Ibrahim Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Tanzania; Daniel Barranger, Etihad Airways’ senior vice president - global sales; and Engineer Thomas Haule, director, ‎Julius Nyerere International Airport.

Dar es Salaam is Etihad Airways’ third departure point in East Africa, along with Nairobi and Entebbe, and its ninth destination on the continent.

Operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, the new service is designed to provide business and leisure travellers with a direct daily service between Dar es Salaam and Abu Dhabi, with convenient onward connections to key destinations in the GCC region, Europe, Indian Subcontinent, North Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Barranger said: “The launch of Etihad Airways’ flights to Dar es Salaam is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets.


“Dar es Salaam is a wonderful destination for tourists seeking to experience the great culture and history of Tanzania, and provides the gateway to numerous national and international tourist attractions, including Mount Kilimanjaro, the wildlife-rich national parks of the Serengeti, and the spice island of Zanzibar.

“The UAE is also a major trading partner with Tanzania and our new point-to-point services strengthen the two-way flow of trade and commerce between the two countries. The flight scheduling offers guests convenient onward connections, and caters for the strong traffic flows between Tanzania and key destinations across our global network, such as Ahmedabad and Mumbai in India or Beijing and Shanghai in China.

“Not only does this service provide our guests with direct access to an exciting new business and tourism destination, it also further strengthens our presence in East Africa and across the African continent,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service