Published on : Monday, August 26, 2019
The Airbus 220-300 was due to fly from Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
A retired farmer, however, has said the aircraft was impounded because Tanzania’s government had not paid him $33m it owes in compensation.
Lawyer Roger Wakefield said the money was awarded after Tanzania’s government seized lands belonging to the South African farmer.
A Tanzanian government spokesperson said that the country’s lawyers had arrived in South Africa to investigate.
In a statement on Friday, Air Tanzania said that it expected to make flight schedule adjustments “due to unforeseeable circumstances”, but did not give any further details.
The carrier’s managing director Ladislaus Matindi said arrangements had been made for passengers to resume their journey on another flight.
The move comes barely two months after Air Tanzania opened its service to South Africa.
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has led attempts to revive the state-owned airline, hoping to boost tourism and turn the country into a major transportation hub.
Tags: air tanzania