Air France has recently launched direct flights from Paris to Dar es Salaam, marking its return to the region after a 28-year hiatus. This new route represents the airline's 31st destination in sub-Saharan Africa and its second in Tanzania, alongside Zanzibar where it has been operating since October 2021 with two weekly flights to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.
The airline will offer three weekly flights to Dar es Salaam, utilizing its 279-seat 787-9 aircraft, which is its second-smallest wide-body plane after the A330-200. With the addition of Dar es Salaam, Air France's sub-Saharan passenger network will encompass a total of 31 airports by next summer.
As a result of this expansion, Air France will now operate nonstop flights between Paris and Dar es Salaam, de-tagging its previous route to Nairobi, which was introduced in March 2018. Currently, four flights to Nairobi are nonstop, while three involve a stopover in Zanzibar.
Notably, booking data indicates that the demand for point-to-point travel between Paris and Dar es Salaam has been relatively low, with only 8,500 roundtrip passengers recorded between January and September 2022, and a meager 11,500 for the entire year of 2019. This can be attributed to the absence of a significant colonial history between France and Tanzania, leading Air France to primarily focus on transit passengers via Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
This expansion is a result of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (Basa) signed earlier this year, aiming to enhance the air transport network, boost tourism and trade between the two nations, and improve connectivity to Central and Eastern Africa. The Basa was signed by Prof Makame Mbarawa, the Works and Transport Minister of Tanzania, and Mr Olivier Becht, France's Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attraction, aligning with Tanzania's ambition to expand its airline's reach and facilitate the movement of people, cargo, and tourism.
During the Basa signing ceremony at the Tanzania-European Union (EU) Business Forum, Prof Mbarawa highlighted the opportunity for Tanzania to tap into a larger market with its tourism offerings, leading to enhanced trade and economic opportunities globally.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), France ranked second after the United States in terms of arrivals from outside the African continent, with 100,371 visitors in the previous year. The volume of trade between Tanzania and France in 2021 amounted to $81.1 million (approximately Sh186.5 billion).
Tobacco, beans, avocados, fish, cotton, vegetables, raw hides and skins are among Tanzania's major exports to France. Conversely, the country primarily imports airplane spare parts, aircraft engines, industrial sugar, laboratory reagents, vaccines for veterinary medicine, and animal feed machinery from France.
The Basa agreement also includes provisions to open Paris and Marseille as long-haul routes for designated Tanzanian airlines, facilitate long-haul cargo services between the two countries, and expand destinations to Mayotte and Reunion, which were not previously included in the list of entry points for Tanzanian designated airlines.
Mr. Daniel Malanga, the Acting Director General of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and Director of Economic Regulation, noted the inclusion of code-sharing arrangements between Tanzanian and French airlines, as well as those from third countries. The number of entry points (airports) has increased from two to three in the current Basa, and cargo services have been incorporated as well.
Mussa Mbura, the Director General of the Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA), expressed satisfaction with the positive relations between Tanzania and France, highlighting that Air France, as the national carrier, has successfully commenced its direct flights to Dar es Salaam in May/June as a testament to the strong bilateral ties.