Andrew Stegmann
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Air Tanzania to Launch Flights to London

Air Tanzania has received landing slots for the launch of flights to London’s Gatwick Airport.

In preparations for the launch of flights to the United Kingdom later this year, next to resolve for the airline will be other related licences and the process is already underway.

The carrier is planning to operate three flights a week, using B787 Dreamliner, to fly from Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro to Gatwick, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

At present, Air Tanzania has to meet European Union safety standards though, should BREXIT happen on October 31, it would be the British authorities to process the application.

Tanzania has not had nonstop flight connections to the UK for several years now since British Airways, inexplicably, withdrew from the route between London Heathrow and Dar es Salaam despite high load factors. The route closure was one of many in Africa at the time and robbed Tanzanians and visitors to the country of a direct airlink between the UK and East Africa’s largest country.

The flights, once operational, will put further pressure on some loss-making airlines in the region presently flying from their hub airports in East Africa to the UK as Air Tanzania is expected to gain market share at their expense.

Meanwhile, Air Tanzania also passed IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), which is a mandatory requirement when foreign countries process various permits for landing rights. Air Tanzania is after Precision Air, the second airline in Tanzania to meet these requirements.

It is also a standard requirement to engage in negotiations with other IATA airlines for interline and codeshare agreements. Air Tanzania returned into the IATA fold after the government settled long outstanding debts with the IATA clearing house in preparations at the time for the relaunch of the airline.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Google Plans to Build Equiano, a Subsea Cable from Portugal to South Africa

Google will build a new undersea cable from Portugal to South Africa, which promises to bring superfast internet to local shores. The new cable will use state-of-the-art infrastructure based on space-division multiplexing (SDM) technology. SDM transmits information along parallel channels.

This will deliver approximately 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to South Africa, Google said in a statement. “(It) will be the first subsea cable to incorporate optical switching at the fiber-pair level, rather than the traditional approach of wavelength-level switching.”

This greatly simplifies the allocation of cable capacity, giving Google the flexibility to add and reallocate it in different locations as needed. The new cable, which will be fully funded by Google, is expected to be operational in South Africa by 2021.

A contract to build the cable was signed with Alcatel Submarine Networks at the end of last year. South Africa has access to various undersea cables. Along the eastern Africa coastline, there are the Seacom cable built in 2009 and the SAT-3/SAFE (South Africa Far East cable) which is older. The WACS (West Africa Cable System), supported by MTN, was completed in 2012.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on Facebook’s plans to build an underwater data cable that would encircle Africa. The group wants to lower data costs, and hopes to sign up more users in the process. The project is apparently named Simba, after “The Lion King”. Google’s new cable will be called “Equiano”, named for Olaudah Equiano, a Nigerian-born writer and abolitionist who was enslaved as a boy,

In the second phase of the project, the cable will be extended to Nigeria. Google says it is “looking forward to working with licensed partners to bring Equiano’s capacity to even more countries across the African continent”. While Google has only funded two other undersea cables, it has partnered with others on more than a dozen projects.

For more information from Google, click here. You can view the planned route for Equiano in the first image below, and all of Google’s subsea cable investments in the second image.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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Five Black Rhinos Have Been Successfully Relocated to Rwanda From Europe

A chartered cargo plane, Boeing 747-400F operated by Air Atlanta under the brand name of ‘Magma’ carrying the five black rhinos touched down at the Kigali International Airport.

Offloading the rhinos from the plane kicked off soon as the plane landed. A team of airport staff first offloaded huge cargo of supplies containing feed for the rhinos.

The three female and two male black rhinos, ranging between two to nine years old, were selected from European zoos. Jasiri, Jasmina and Manny were born in Safari Park Dvur Kralove, Czech Republic. Olmoti comes from Flamingo Land in UK while Mandela is from Ree Park Safari in Denmark.

The Eastern black rhinos follow a batch of other rhinos, which were brought to Rwanda from South Africa in 2017. Officials, including the Head of Conservation at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and African Parks which manages Akagera National Park, were around to witness the arrival of the critically endangered species.

According to Safari Park Druv Kralove, the plane took off from the Czech Republic at around 7:45 am on Sunday. They were transported to Akagera by three separate trucks. Overall, their transportation to Akagera Park from Czech Republic will have taken around 30 hours. This is the largest ever translocation of rhinos from Europe to Africa.

The translocation of the rhinos is the result of what has been described as “unique collaboration between the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), the Government of Rwanda and conservation NGO African Parks.

It was first announced last year that EAZA zoos had donated the highly endangered species to Rwanda. The Head of Conservation at RDB told The New Times recently that the rhinos will bring considerable benefits to the country.

“Even though we already have rhinos from South Africa, to ensure a healthy population, you have to bring in species that is from a different group to allow integration,” he said.

The more you bring in rhinos to integrate, he added, the more the assurance of strength of genes that are strong and resistant.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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UK Home Office Changes Will Make it Easier for South Africans to Emigrate to the UK

The UK’s Home Office has published more details about its future skills-based immigration system.

Earlier this month, the department said that a new immigration and borders system will be implemented in a phased approach from 2021.

“Proposals include scrapping the annual cap on the number of visas issued for skilled workers and widening the skills threshold to include people with qualifications equivalent of A levels,” the Home Office said.

“The new skills-based system will also remove the resident labour market test for high-skilled workers and introduce a route for temporary workers at any skills from low-risk countries, allowing them to come to the UK for a maximum of 12 months.”

According to JP Breytenbach, director of Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the new skills-based immigration system is definitely good news for South Africans looking to live and work in the UK.

“The new immigration system will mark the end of free movement for European workers to the United Kingdom. It will not favour any specific nationality. Europeans will have to compete with all other nationalities if they want to apply for UK jobs and visas,” he said.

Breytenbach said that the end of free movement will also mean that there will be more job opportunities available.

This, coupled with a simpler skills-based immigration system will allow South Africans to take up more job opportunities in the UK, he said.

“It will definitely be easier for South Africans with sought after skills and talent to apply to live and work in the UK.

“Furthermore, there will no longer be a cap on the number of workers that can come in a specific period. This will make it easier for UK employers in specific sectors to hire the number of workers they need.”

Still desirable

Despite recent Brexit troubles, Breytenbach said that the UK labour market remains a desirable location for South Africans.

“London is reckoned to be the financial capital of the world, and many global businesses have their headquarters in the city,”he said .

“This obviously means many attractive job opportunities for skilled and highly skilled persons in London, and the country as a whole.

“It is also easy for South Africans to adapt to the UK workplace and culture. Language is no barrier. The short flight distance also makes it an attractive destination for South African businesses looking to expand to the UK and EU markets.”

No typical applicant

Despite a recent uptick in the number of South Africans looking to emigrate, Breytenbach said that there a really is no ‘typical’ South African applicant.

“There are numerous young persons who are applying for UK student visas. Many of them then later switch to other immigration categories, upon finishing their studies,” he said.

“We also have skilled and highly skilled persons who apply for visas and permits from all age groups, and a number of business persons looking for visas in order to expand their businesses to the UK.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].