Media reports earlier in the week threw doubts on the Tanzanian government’s plans to privatize the airline once again, after an American company reportedly staked out claims that they were ready to take over the ailing, if not outright incapacitated, national airline.
When the erstwhile partnership with South African Airways broke up some years ago, Tanzania tried several times to float ATCL to Chinese partners, but the onset in 2008 of the global financial and economic crisis put a stop to that.
Sources in Dar es Salaam tried to reassure this correspondent that efforts were ongoing and that the talks with the Chinese were on course and soon to be completed, after which a capital injection and introduction of a new fleet of aircraft would start soon to put the airline back in the air.
