Icadon
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- Mar 21, 2007
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The Zanzibari government and investors in the tourism industry are pointing accusing fingers at one another with each blaming the other for making Zanzibar International Airport (Zia) one of the world's worst airports.
The Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (Zati) blames the Government for the mess the airport is in, saying it has neglected the facility.
It says persistent tourist complaints about low-quality service, rundown buildings and lack of basic facilities have prompted some international travel organisations to include Zia in their lists of the world's worst airports.
Another decisive factor has been visitors' exposure to and experiences with all sorts of vices and inefficiencies at the airport such as corruption, service overcharges, theft, red tape, delays and dishonesty, among others.
But the authorities accuse the investors of overburdening the facility with uncoordinated tourist arrivals and refusing to adopt a slotting system for charter planes.
Communication and Transport permanent secretary Salmin Senga told this newspaper that the facilities could currently handle a maximum of 200 passengers at a go, but were sometimes forced to cater for up to 1,500 travellers.
He said the refusal of companies hosting tourist charter planes to space scheduled landing created unnecessary congestion at the airport and wreaked havoc on the provision of services.
Civil aviation director Malik Hanif said they were having sleepless nights trying to solve myriad problems at the airport built in 1975.
The two sides met early last week to sort out their differences on the matter and chart out ways to address the crisis at the airport that is threatening the future of tourism on the Spice Islands.
"We had a roundtable meeting on Monday with government officials on the matter and they outlined strategies to address the problems, including the building of a new terminal that will be privatised," a Zati member told this newspaper.
During Zati's annual general meeting last month, members decried the current state of the airport, and challenged the Government to quickly act on the matter. They said the situation and heightened frustration among tourists using the airport could hamper new tourism investments as well as cut the number of tourist arrivals.
They said the situation would also impact negatively on Zanzibar's economy, which increasingly depended on tourism for foreign exchange earnings and as a source of revenue for businesses.
Tourism, which has overtaken agriculture as the most important sector of the economy, accounts for 22 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). It is growing at nine per cent annually.
"The same spirit that has led to big improvements in roads and water supply should be applied in facelifting the airport, which is the gateway to Zanzibar," Zati chairman Simai Mohammed said.
Speaking after the AGM, Mr Hanif told The Citizen that more than $100 million would be required for Zia's current and future needs.
He acknowledged problems dogging the airport, but said both the Government and tourism operators shared the blame for the facility operating beyond capacity, which, he added, was the most serious problem afflicting Zia.
Mr Senga told The Citizen that the Government had signed a Sh4.6 billion agreement with financier Jamani Investment for extension of the passengers' terminal as a short-term measure.
He added that work on the project was expected to start soon, and would take between six and eight months. The long-term solution is to build another terminal to cater to international travellers.
Mr Senga dismissed reports that Zia was among the world's worst airports, saying, "We are aware of this 'worst' reputation thing, but we are of the view that this the opinion of individual visitors and not any reputable organisation."
He added that congestion mainly occurred on Wednesdays when up to five charter planes with about 300 passengers each landed at the airport almost simultaneously.
"That number is far too big for a single terminal that was originally designed to accommodate 100 passengers. The charter companies and tourist hotels should take this into consideration and agree to at least space arrivals at two hours' intervals," Mr Senga noted.
Organisations that regard Zia as one of the worst airports in the world include Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which publishes the influential Foreign Policy (FP) magazine.
The mission of the award-winning publication of global politics, economics and ideas is to explain how the world works, particularly how the process of globalisation is reshaping nations, institutions, cultures and daily lives.
Proposing the inclusion of Zia in the worst airports list, one reader recently wrote: "Check-in is done outside the building on wooden stalls resembling a bazaar, inside the building, which is made up of one single medium-sized room, there are no fans, no air conditioning, among others."
The airport was built in 1975 and was handling over 14,000 flights, 418,814 passengers and nearly 600 tonnes of cargo annually by early last year.
Budgetary constraints have led to inadequate investment in basic infrastructure and facilities with the runway being the hardest hit.
The contract with a Chinese firm hired to refurbish the airport was terminated last year due to the shoddy nature of the company's work.
Mr Senga said new tendering for the World Bank-financed project had begun, adding that work on the airport would take off next May or June.
There have been complaints about rampant corruption at the airport with foreigners allegedly being grossly overcharged for entry visas.
Fumba Hotel owner Edwin van Zwan told the Zati meeting that tourists were forced to pay 50 euros (Sh80,000) instead of $50 (Sh60,000) to enter Zanzibar.
Concerns Zati voiced to the Government during the meeting also included gross indiscipline among Zia workers, too many porters, uncollected garbage, a lack of proper flight information, illegal sale of tickets and currencies and cheating at luggage scales.
Source:TheCitizen
The Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (Zati) blames the Government for the mess the airport is in, saying it has neglected the facility.
It says persistent tourist complaints about low-quality service, rundown buildings and lack of basic facilities have prompted some international travel organisations to include Zia in their lists of the world's worst airports.
Another decisive factor has been visitors' exposure to and experiences with all sorts of vices and inefficiencies at the airport such as corruption, service overcharges, theft, red tape, delays and dishonesty, among others.
But the authorities accuse the investors of overburdening the facility with uncoordinated tourist arrivals and refusing to adopt a slotting system for charter planes.
Communication and Transport permanent secretary Salmin Senga told this newspaper that the facilities could currently handle a maximum of 200 passengers at a go, but were sometimes forced to cater for up to 1,500 travellers.
He said the refusal of companies hosting tourist charter planes to space scheduled landing created unnecessary congestion at the airport and wreaked havoc on the provision of services.
Civil aviation director Malik Hanif said they were having sleepless nights trying to solve myriad problems at the airport built in 1975.
The two sides met early last week to sort out their differences on the matter and chart out ways to address the crisis at the airport that is threatening the future of tourism on the Spice Islands.
"We had a roundtable meeting on Monday with government officials on the matter and they outlined strategies to address the problems, including the building of a new terminal that will be privatised," a Zati member told this newspaper.
During Zati's annual general meeting last month, members decried the current state of the airport, and challenged the Government to quickly act on the matter. They said the situation and heightened frustration among tourists using the airport could hamper new tourism investments as well as cut the number of tourist arrivals.
They said the situation would also impact negatively on Zanzibar's economy, which increasingly depended on tourism for foreign exchange earnings and as a source of revenue for businesses.
Tourism, which has overtaken agriculture as the most important sector of the economy, accounts for 22 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). It is growing at nine per cent annually.
"The same spirit that has led to big improvements in roads and water supply should be applied in facelifting the airport, which is the gateway to Zanzibar," Zati chairman Simai Mohammed said.
Speaking after the AGM, Mr Hanif told The Citizen that more than $100 million would be required for Zia's current and future needs.
He acknowledged problems dogging the airport, but said both the Government and tourism operators shared the blame for the facility operating beyond capacity, which, he added, was the most serious problem afflicting Zia.
Mr Senga told The Citizen that the Government had signed a Sh4.6 billion agreement with financier Jamani Investment for extension of the passengers' terminal as a short-term measure.
He added that work on the project was expected to start soon, and would take between six and eight months. The long-term solution is to build another terminal to cater to international travellers.
Mr Senga dismissed reports that Zia was among the world's worst airports, saying, "We are aware of this 'worst' reputation thing, but we are of the view that this the opinion of individual visitors and not any reputable organisation."
He added that congestion mainly occurred on Wednesdays when up to five charter planes with about 300 passengers each landed at the airport almost simultaneously.
"That number is far too big for a single terminal that was originally designed to accommodate 100 passengers. The charter companies and tourist hotels should take this into consideration and agree to at least space arrivals at two hours' intervals," Mr Senga noted.
Organisations that regard Zia as one of the worst airports in the world include Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which publishes the influential Foreign Policy (FP) magazine.
The mission of the award-winning publication of global politics, economics and ideas is to explain how the world works, particularly how the process of globalisation is reshaping nations, institutions, cultures and daily lives.
Proposing the inclusion of Zia in the worst airports list, one reader recently wrote: "Check-in is done outside the building on wooden stalls resembling a bazaar, inside the building, which is made up of one single medium-sized room, there are no fans, no air conditioning, among others."
The airport was built in 1975 and was handling over 14,000 flights, 418,814 passengers and nearly 600 tonnes of cargo annually by early last year.
Budgetary constraints have led to inadequate investment in basic infrastructure and facilities with the runway being the hardest hit.
The contract with a Chinese firm hired to refurbish the airport was terminated last year due to the shoddy nature of the company's work.
Mr Senga said new tendering for the World Bank-financed project had begun, adding that work on the airport would take off next May or June.
There have been complaints about rampant corruption at the airport with foreigners allegedly being grossly overcharged for entry visas.
Fumba Hotel owner Edwin van Zwan told the Zati meeting that tourists were forced to pay 50 euros (Sh80,000) instead of $50 (Sh60,000) to enter Zanzibar.
Concerns Zati voiced to the Government during the meeting also included gross indiscipline among Zia workers, too many porters, uncollected garbage, a lack of proper flight information, illegal sale of tickets and currencies and cheating at luggage scales.
Source:TheCitizen
