Arusha Airport

Arusha Airport : The Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) manages, maintains, and operates the airport, which is located approximately 7 kilometers west of Arusha’s city center. The airport is classified as group II, serves only domestic flights, and is open from sunset to sunrise for a period of 12 hours.

It was built in 1956 by a farmer known as Colonel Grey, who was doing large-scale agriculture, cultivating coffee and sorghum in the area called Burka and Mateves, on which later the airport was handed to the Tanzania government. This was after independence.

Arusha airport is among of the 59 airports managed, maintained and operated under Tanzania airports Authority (TAA), the airport is in Group II category. The airport operates as domestic only and it is located western side of Arusha city, approximately 7km (4NM) from Arusha City Centre. Airport is at 4567 feet above mean sea level having an average temperature of 23ᵒC

The airport was running under East African Airways during 1977. After the breakdown of the East African Community (EAC), the airport was once again handed over to Kilimo Hunger, which was an agriculture department in Tanzania. In the year of 1999, the inception of the Tanzania Airport Authority as an excutive agency decided to operate and run all government airports and airstrips within the Tanzania mainland. 

Arusha airport has two (2) aprons;

(i) Main Apron area has an area of 15,000m² with capacity to park 3 ATR 72 or Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 at once or 15 caravans (C208) at once

(ii) remote apron facility  8,925m2 has a capacity to park aircraft with less than 12 tonnes and its capacity is fifteen(15) C208 Aircraft.

Arusha airport has departure facility which has capacity to handle 219 passengers at a time.

Arusha airport has five taxiways; Taxiway A, B, C, D and P (parallel taxiway)  which has 500m length and 7.5 width joining the remote apron, runway 09 and taxiway “ A”,

At the moment, Arusha Airport is served by six airlines. And this includes

AIRLINES                                                              DESTINATIONS

COASTAL AVIATION	Mikumi, Mwanza, Pemba Island, Ruaha, Selous, Serengeti, Tanga, Tarangire, Zanzibar
AS SALAAM AIR	Zanzibar, Dar Es Salaam, Kigali, Kilimanjaro, Mafia Island, Manyara, Mikumi and Mwanza.
PRECISION AIR	Dar es salaam, Zanzibar
REGIONAL AIR	Kilimanjaro, Manyara and Zanzibar
TROPICAL AIR	Dar es salaam and Zanzibar

 ZanAIR                                                                   Mombasa, Pemba Island and Zanzibar