An Airbus A220 belonging to Tanzania’s flag carrier has been released after being impounded in the Netherlands for over seven months. The Air Tanzania aircraft was seized in December 2022 following a dispute between the Tanzanian government and a Swedish energy company.
Following a constructive discussion between the state and the Swedish firm, the single-aisle aircraft has been returned to Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL). Having been stored for over half a year, the jet will undergo repairs before it can resume commercial service for the national carrier
Return of the aircraft to Tanzania
The Tanzanian government confirmed on July 8 that the seized aircraft was returned to the East African nation last week. According to The Citizen, Chief Government Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said on Saturday;
“Today, I have good news that following a pending case at the Dutch Court, one of our planes was seized. Fortunately, the plane has returned home after a successful discussion between the two sides.”
The A220-300, registered as 5H-TCH, is four years old and had been in service for Air Tanzania before the attachment. FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft began its return on July 6 with a 13-minute flight around the Dutch City of Maastricht.
On July 7, it took off from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) at 08:19 and flew to Cairo International Airport (CAI), landing at 13:31. After about an hour, it left Cairo and flew to Dar es Salaam Julius Nyerere Airport (DAR), where it arrived at 20:41. On July 10, 5H-TCH flew from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro, but it is not fully clear if it was a scheduled revenue or test flight given the repairs needed.
