According to the Controller and Auditor General’s report for 2021/2022, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) lost Sh35.2 billion due to 25% flight delays.
Despite decreasing its losses by Sh900 million from Sh36.1 billion in the previous fiscal year. CAG Mr. Charles Kichere stated this on Wednesday while handing up the audit report for the years 2021-2022 to President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
He went on to say that ATCL’s objective was to achieve a 92% level, however, data reveal that flight delays amounted to 25% of the carrier’s losses.
Nonetheless, CAG Kichere recommended that public organizations focus on enhancing efficiency and revenue collection and that the board of directors fight for that position.
According to the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report, ATCL’s two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft lost Sh23.6 billion last year, despite the airline decreasing its losses from Sh60.2 billion to Sh36.5 billion in 2020-2021.
The report also revealed that ATCL was one of 42 government entities that recorded losses or overspent in two consecutive years, making it one of the corporations that cannot pay debts in a short period.
The Citizen Tz, a Tanzanian news publication also reported earlier that according to the report ATCL the national carrier recorded a loss of Sh60 billion in the financial year under review.
“We have discovered that ATCL has made losses of up to Sh60 billion but also in the past five years this company has been making losses annually. There are several challenges that the government ought to address immediately,” said Charles Kichere.
These reports above are despite the growth in Tanzania’s aviation industry as reported earlier, which revealed that freight handled last year grew by 32% above pre-pandemic levels to 35,130.83 tonnes, while passengers transported by airlines increased by over 2% to 5.723 million.
When it comes to airplane traffic, it is still 15.4% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) figures, freight handled last year grew by 32% above pre-pandemic levels to 35,130.83 tonnes, while passengers transported by airlines increased by over 2% to 5.723 million. When it comes to airplane traffic, it is still 15.4% below pre-pandemic levels.
