Tanzania has added Boeing 737-9 Max to its series of 15 fleets for the airline Air Tanzania, making it the second of its kind purchased by the country since 2017.

Air Tanzania has purchased Boeing 737-9 Max at a time when Boeing is experiencing a crisis following safety concerns about its 737-9 Max. The company’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, is expected to step down by the end of the year following the January 05 incident.

On January 5, 2024, a Boeing 737-9 MAX door plug blew off mid-air, leaving a large hole that frightened Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 passengers. The flight was on its way from Oregon to California, and 177 people were on board.

On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it was investigating the incident. Furthermore, the US government temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 for safety checks.

On its March 04 update, the FAA said: “It found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.”

FAA also halted the production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX and gave Boeing 90 days to outline its action plan for addressing the findings from the expert review panel report on Boeing’s safety culture.

Air Tanzania’s fleets consist of two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, five Dash 8 Q 400, four Airbus A220-300, a cargo plane Boeing 767-300F, and two Boeing 737- MAX9. All of them were purchased between 2016 and 2024. Since 2020, one plane, Dash 8-Q300, which was bought in 1997, has been under repairs.

Air Tanzania currently has a network of 14 domestic destinations, 8 regional destinations, and two intercontinental destinations

According to the Tanzania Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Air Tanzania has consistently made losses for the past five years from the last year of audit 2021/22.

In the 2021/2022 financial year, the company lost Sh30.63 billion. The CAG said the loss would have reached Sh65.86 billion without the airline’s government grant of Sh30.63 billion.