Precision Air

Precision Air
ATR 42-600
IATA ICAO Call sign
PW PRF PRECISION AIR
Founded1991
Commenced operations
November 1993
AOC #TCAA/AOC/003
HubsDar es Salaam
Secondary hubsKilimanjaro
PAA Royal
Fleet size8
Destinations7
Traded asDSE: PAL
HeadquartersDar es Salaam, Tanzania
Key people
RevenueIncrease TSh 162 billion (US$61 million) (FY 2024)
ProfitIncrease TSh −32 billion (US$−12 million) (FY 2024)
Employees413 (2024)
Websitewww.precisionairtz.com

Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and Comoros; and to various airports and airstrips in Tanzania. Kenya Airways owns 41.23% of the airline, and is a component company of the Tanzania All Share Index.

It is currently banned from flying into the EU along with all Tanzanian airlines.

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993. At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offer scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market. It introduced a 737-300 courtesy of Kenya Airways in 1999. [clarification needed]

In 2006, Precision Air became the first Tanzanian airline to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit.

In April 2011, the airline became a public company.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Precision Air was privately owned until 2003, when Kenya Airways acquired a 49 percent stake, paying US$2 million, weeks after its rival South African Airways acquired a 49 percent stake in Air Tanzania for US$20 million. The remaining 51 percent was retained by Michael Shirima, the founder of the airline.

In October 2011, Precision Air floated shares in its stock in an initial public offering on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, after which Shirima's and Kenya Airways's stakes declined and the new share subscribers owned 15.86 percent. As of 31 March 2016, the major shareholders were:: 7 

Name No. of shares Interest
Michael Shirima68,857,65042.91%
Kenya Airways66,157,35041.23%
Precision Air Employee Share Option Scheme1,765,3001.10%
Other shareholders23,689,50014.76%
Total160,469,800100.00%

It was a private company until 2011, so published figures were not generally available before the initial public offering prospectus of 12 September 2011. Since then, full Annual Reports and Financial Statements have been published each year.

Trends over recent years for the Precision Air group (Precision Air Services Plc and its subsidiaries Precision Handling Limited and Precise Systems Limited) (as at year ending 31 March; 31 December from 2018 onwards) are:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 3.2018 12.2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Turnover (TSh million) 181,358 141,262 105,400 90,751 79,756 97,108 97,925 124,486 56,877 71,153 117,667 139,817 162,193
Profits (PBT) (TSh million) −30,812 −11,400 -83,900 −91,676 −26,941 −21,099 −37,080 -44,139 -45,087 -43,162 5,915 −77,394 −31,755
Number of employees 717 608 536 509 436 356 396 398 383 376 393 401 413
Number of passengers ('000) 896 688 452 375 409 474 366 484 246 285 480 482 472
Passenger load factor (%) 62 65 59 52 52 55 54 52 49 52 64 65 66
Number of aircraft (at year end) 12 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 8 8
Notes/sources : 2 
  1. ↑ 2018: Figures for 9 months
  2. ↑ 2020: Activities and income in 2020 were severely reduced by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

Published reports in June 2013 indicated that Precision Air had encountered substantial financial difficulties, stemming in part from losses incurred while operating flights to and from Johannesburg, South Africa. Those flights ended in September 2012. The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, reported in August 2013 that the airline "desperately" needed a US$32 million bailout package from the Tanzanian government or other non-shareholder sources. The airline's problems increased in 2011 when it received only US$7.4 million of the US$17.5 million in cash that the airline hoped to receive when first listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Increasing fuel prices, taxes, and levies plus currency fluctuations and the refusal of minority owner Kenya Airways to contribute capital had also hurt the airline.

Destinations

Precision Air ATR 42-300 at Kilimanjaro International Airport in 2006.
Precision Air Boeing 737-300 at Mwanza Airport in 2010.
Precision Air ATR 72-212A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, in 2012.

As of October 2026, the airline serves the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
ComorosAnjouanOuani AirportSuspended
MoroniPrince Said Ibrahim International AirportSuspended
Democratic Republic of CongoLubumbashiLubumbashi International AirportTerminated
KenyaMombasaMoi International AirportTerminated
NairobiJomo Kenyatta International Airport
South AfricaJohannesburgO. R. Tambo International AirportTerminated
TanzaniaArushaArusha Airport
BukobaBukoba AirportTerminated
Dar es SalaamJulius Nyerere International AirportHub
DodomaDodoma AirportTerminated
KahamaKahama Airstrip
Moshi / ArushaKilimanjaro International AirportHub
MbeyaSongwe AirportTerminated
MtwaraMtwara Airport
MwanzaMwanza Airport
Serengeti–SeroneraSeronera AirstripTerminated
ZanzibarAbeid Amani Karume International Airport
UgandaEntebbeEntebbe International AirportTerminated
ZambiaLusakaKenneth Kaunda International AirportTerminated

Partnerships

Codeshare agreements

Precision Air has codeshare agreements with the following four airlines:

  1. Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi-Dar es Salaam)
  2. Kenya Airways (various routes)
  3. LAM Mozambique Airlines (Maputo–Nampula–Pemba–Dar es Salaam)
  4. RwandAir (Kigali–Kilimanjaro)

Interline agreements

In 2011, Precision Air entered into an interline agreement with Qatar Airways, allowing the latter's passengers to connect to other east African destinations such as Arusha and Zanzibar via Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Fleet

ATR 42-600
ATR 72-500

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Precision Air operates the following aircraft:

Precision Air fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
ATR 42–500 1 — 0 48 48
ATR 42–600 2 — 0 48 48
ATR 72–500 5 — 0 70 70
Total 8 0

Historical fleet

The airline has previously operated the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network Precision Air has had seven accidents or incidents. One of those caused 19 fatalities.

References

  1. ↑ "JO 7340.2J – Contractions – Basic with Change 1, Change 2 & Change 3" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Prospectus" (PDF). 12 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Tanzania's PrecisionAir creates a mini-hub at Kilimanjaro". ch-aviation. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "AGM Meeting Pack" (PDF). Precision Air. February 2026. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Precision Air enhances its operations from Mwanza". 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "PrecisionAir – Home". www.precisionairtz.com.
  7. ↑ "The EU air safety list - European Commission". transport.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Precision Air History". Precision Air. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Precision Air – Apg". Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 65.
  11. ↑ "Kenya Airways to buy 49% stake in Precision Air". AirlineCrew.net. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "Precision Air gets Sh510 million IFC boost". Business Daily. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "Precision Air Services P.L.C. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2015/2016" (PDF). 18 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Directors' Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2013" (PDF). Precision Air. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Directors' Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2014" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Despite bad financial performance Precision Air shares remain flat". Daily News. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2018" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  18. ↑ "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2019" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2021" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  23. 1 2 "Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024" (PDF). Precision Air. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Thome, Wolfgang H. Thome (11 June 2013). "Precision Air's financial troubles go into public domain". eTurboNews. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  25. ↑ "Airlineroute :: Routesonline". airlineroute.net. UBM (UK) Ltd. 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  26. 1 2 3 "Precision Air's Sh51bn bailout appeal to State". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  27. ↑ "Precision Air looks to other lenders after poor IPO show". The East African. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Destinations". Precision Air. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  29. 1 2 3 "Precision Air discontinues FBM-LUN route". 8 July 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  30. ↑ "How regional airlines are scrambling for Entebbe airport". Monitor. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Precision Air operated a direct flight.. until March 2014.
  31. ↑ Jim Liu (27 December 2016). "Etihad / Precision Air plans codeshare service from Jan 2017". Routes Online. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  32. ↑ "Partners & Alliances". Kenya Airways. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  33. ↑ "Precision Air enters into code share with Mozambique Airlines". Precision Air. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  34. ↑ "Partners and Alliances". RwandAir. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  35. ↑ "Qatar Airways and Precision Air announce partnership" (Pressrelease). Qatar Airways. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  36. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Precision Air". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 76.
  37. ↑ "Tanzania's Precision Air goes all prop after last 737 is withdrawn". ch-aviation.
  38. ↑ "Accident record for Precision Air". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  39. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42–500 5H-PWF Bukoba Airport (BKZ)". aviation-safety.net.
  40. ↑ "Accident description for 5H-PAB". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  41. ↑ "Accident description for 5H-PAC". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  42. ↑ "Accident description for 5H-PAR". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  43. ↑ ""Update: Precision ATR 42–600 Blew All Main Tires on Landing at Arusha on Dec 13 Resumed to Service", The Aviation Herald, 17 December 2013". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  44. ↑ "Accident description for 5H-PWA". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  45. ↑ "Precision wafafanua ndege yao kuvamiwa na kunguru angani – Dar24".
  46. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42–500 5H-PWF Bukoba Airport (BKZ)". aviation-safety.net.
  47. ↑ "FINAL REPORT ON THE ACCIDENT TO ATR 42-500 AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION 5H-PWF WHICH OCCURRED ON 6 NOVEMBER 2022 IN LAKE VICTORIA NEAR BUKOBA AIRPORT". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 22 July 2025.