TANAPA explains Saadani airstrip temporary closure
ARUSHA: A strategic airstrip within the Saadani National Park in Coast Region has been temporarily closed to pave way for maintenance, the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) has announced.
In a statement issued recently by the TANAPA Acting Conservation Commissioner, Juma Kuji, they pleaded with tourism players to exercise patience as the Saadani airstrip will remain closed between November 10 and 23, 2023.
On November 10 this year, a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) to close Saadani airstrip for maintenance until November 23 this year, he explained.
“The notice was a result of the notification from our organisation to TCAA following aircraft operators hazard reports and our observation of excessive rains leading to excessive wetness of the movement areas, parts of the runway, taxiways and the entire apron at Saadani airstrip” Kuji said adding:
“As an organisation, we always strive to engage our stakeholders in making critical decisions affecting their businesses. Scheduled maintenance of airstrips is an example where the work plan is made in consultation with stakeholders so that flight disruptions and inconveniences to our stakeholders are minimised as much as practicable”.
However, he said that with the current situation, they had no opportunity to consult as safety was at stake.
“It should be noted that as an operator of the airstrip, we are obliged under the civil aviation regulations to initiate closure of the airstrip when there is a condition that may lead to unsafe operation of aircraft as soon as it comes to our knowledge” Kuji noted.
The notice period is usually determined by the identified risk level and how soon the risk is likely to come to the acceptable level.
The TANAPA chief said that there are cases where mitigations may be implemented as the operations continue while in other cases, such as the one at hand, call for immediate closure of the airstrip until the risk is confirmed to come back to the acceptable level.
“While we are aware of the consequences of our decision to close the airstrip, including flight disruptions associated with business and financial losses, our analysis showed that it was the most prudent action under the circumstances since continued operation of the airstrip in that situation was associated with unacceptable risk level and violation of the civil aviation regulations” Kuji underlined.
TANAPA assured stakeholders that maintenance of the particular airstrip would be fast-tracked while monitoring the weather condition and they will keep all those concerned informed accordingly.
