Air Tanzania (TC, Dar es Salaam) has announced plans to establish its own groundhandling, MRO, and in-flight catering units as part of its growth and restructuring plan.

According to The Citizen, Sales and Distribution Manager, Edward Nkwabi, told a tourism stakeholders conference last week that the state-owned carrier was looking to take advantage of the partial liberalization of the market to establish its own groundhandling firm which will operate primarily in Dar es Salaam.

Other projects on the cards include an MRO hangar facility in Dar es Salaam, an inflight catering unit, and the construction of an executive lounge in Julius Nyerere International Airport's new Terminal III.

Air Tanzania will take delivery of two A220-300s and one B787-8 through July of this year following which the carrier will embark on a regional and international expansion plan covering Bujumbura and Entebbe in Central Africa; Harare International, Lusaka, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo in Southern Africa; and Mumbai International and Guangzhou in Asia.

Airline CEO Ladislaus Matindi has previously noted plans to rejoin IATA as well as an unspecified global alliance.