Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar airports may become transit hubs for flights between Russia and African countries after the launch of direct flights to Moscow, Tanzanian Transport Minister Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa told RIA Novosti.
The minister recalled that previously, passengers travelling from Dar es Salaam to Moscow had to make a connection in Middle Eastern countries or at Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia.
“[Direct flights] are important not only for Tanzania, but also for passengers from a number of countries in East and Southern Africa. After the launch of this flight, Tanzania, in particular the airports of Dar es Salaam and the Zanzibar Archipelago, will become an air hub: we will carry passengers arriving here to Moscow,” the minister said.
Earlier in July, speaking after the arrival of the first flight in Moscow, Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ashatu Kijaji said the launch of direct flights would allow the African country to increase the tourist flow from Russia more than tenfold, from 17,100 to 200,000 people a year.
The first Air Tanzania aircraft landed in the Russian capital on 2 July 2026 with a Tanzanian delegation on board, headed by Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ashatu Kijaji. The delegation also included members of parliament, heads of ministries and representatives of 47 Tanzanian tourism companies.
