First Boeing 767 Freighter in Africa Delivered to Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania has become the first African operator of the Boeing 767-300F.
Air Tanzania has become the first African operator of the Boeing 767-300F.
DALLAS — A milestone in Africa has been achieved by Air Tanzania (TC), which has become the first operator of the Boeing 767-300 Freighter series in the continent after receiving its first and only unit today, June 3, 2023, at Dar-es-Salaam Airport (DAR).
Airframe 5H-TCO flew on delivery from Everett Airfield (PAE) to Casablanca (CMN), before arriving finally at its final destination, as the range was not sufficient to perform a non-stop flight between the United States and Tanzania.
5H-TCO flew about 16,000 kilometers in two phases, from Paine Field Airport (PAE) in Everett, Washington, US, to Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
The first leg of the ferry flight began at 18:32 UTC on June 1, 2023, at Paine Field Airport (PAE), Everett, Washington, USA, and ended on June 2, 2023, at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN), Nouaceur Province, Morocco, after 11:32 hours of flight over the northern states of the United States and the North Atlantic Ocean airspaces.
On June 3, 2023, at 04:02 UTC, the final leg departed from Casablanca (CMN) and touched down at the carrier's hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, at 11:57 UTC.
Boeing 767-300F (5H-TCO) water cannon salute as it arrived for the first time in Tanzania. Video still: Air Tanzania
The freighter was warmly welcomed by a variety of government officials, aviation industry stakeholders, and citizens led by Her Excellency, Hon. Samia Suluhu Hassan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania who gathered at DAR to welcome and receive the freighter.
Following aviation tradition, the freighter received a water cannon salute from the airport fire trucks upon landing, to welcome it to service.
Ladislaus Matindi, Managing Director of Air Tanzania, said, "The 767 will enable Air Tanzania to support a journey towards a more sustainable future and time-critical cargo schedules across Africa and beyond. The arrival of the airplane will open opportunities for global businesses to transport commercial cargo goods to various parts of the world, which will boost national economic growth."
With this delivery, TC celebrated its position as the first airline operating a directly manufactured freighter Boeing 767 in the African continent. Other carriers in the region, such as Ethiopian Airlines (ET) or Royal Air Maroc (AT), also fly the type but as converted freighters at the end of their operational lifetime.
50 years after its program launch, the Boeing 767 family has been still one of the most successful widebody aircraft from the American factory, and interestingly is still being produced, just not as a passenger plane.
The Boeing 767 has found itself in a very good position today as it fulfills the characteristics of a profitable freighter aircraft, with well-optimized space, large Maximum Take Off Weight, and Range for this type of operation.
Because of this, while having already shut down the passenger production, directly built freighter Boeing 767s continuously roll out from Everett's final assembly lines, mostly preparing their delivery UPS (5X) or FedEx (FX), which is its actual largest operator, with more than 120 units.
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The Boeing 767-300F can be loaded with more than 15,469 cubic feet (438 cubic meters ) of cargo volume, and the ability to carry approximately 58 tons (52.7 tonnes) of revenue payload ( cargo) for more than 3,255 nautical miles (6,025 km). The 767 Freighter has simple, fully automated, and powered cargo handling equipment, with control panels and joysticks serving as the operator's interface.
The widespread use of built-in test equipment, or BITE, which enables troubleshooting in the event of a system fault, is a special characteristic of the cargo-handling system. In addition to spotting and isolating controller issues, this function offers the maintenance worker a set of automated checks to identify and isolate other system faults.
The aircraft can transport live animals and perishable commodities because the freight is also fitted with an environmental control system. The cargo spaces receive plenty of fresh air, and the temperature can be adjusted to suitably cool or heat the cargo.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted 180 minutes of Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) certification for the Boeing 767s in May 1985. This enables more direct, quicker long-haul flights of up to 180 minutes from an alternate airport.
Air Tanzania (TC) is a small airline that is focused on carrying hometown passengers from its main hub in Dar-es-Salaam (DAR) to the rest of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Differing significantly from neighboring countries, the fleet of TC is one of the newest and most efficient of the African continent, made up of new-gen aircraft such as the Airbus A220, Boeing 787, and De Havilland Canada Dash 8, which all have an average age of just 4 years.
With the operation of the Boeing 767 Freighter, the Tanzanian carrier is expected to complement high air freight demand routes to some destinations of its current network, including far-away cities like Algiers (ALG), Mumbai (BOM), and Guangzhou (CAN).
Contributing author: Maximillian Philberth. Featured image: Departure of the Air Tanzania Boeing 767-300F from Everett Airfield. Photo: Boeing
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