DIRECTOR General of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) Mr Hamza Johari has said that best airport services coupled with advanced emergency response plan were the main reasons that led the largest passenger Emirates airline A380 to land at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA).

Mr Johari made the revelation on Monday when handing over donation of office equipment to security forces at Mtwara Airport Police Station in Mtwara Region.

An Airbus A380 belonging to Emirates was on Saturday, April 15, forced to land at the JNIA in Dar es Salaam with 514 passengers and crew on board.

He said the airline that was heading to Dubai from Sao Paulo, Brazil was forced to land at JNIA on emergency to refuel.

The airline according to Mr Johari was scheduled to land at Khartoum International Airport in Sudan to take the fuel, but failed as the airport in Sudan was inaccessible due to the ongoing political unrests.

"The airline made an emergency landing at JNIA after it failed to navigate through Sudanese aviation where it was scheduled to land for refueling," he said.

He said the pilot chose to land in Tanzania because of the best airport services with best emergency response plan to accommodate such airlines at any time.

He said that it is not the first time for such an airplane belonging to Emirates and of the similar size to land unexpectedly at JNIA.

He said in 2018, an Emirates' airline EK 701 with 503 passengers onboard landed at JNIA airport in an emergency due to bad weather in Mauritius, where it was scheduled to land.

Commenting about the country's airline services, Mr Johari said all the airlines using the airports in the country receive best services including airline security services.

He said the country's airport are installed with best flight service system for aviation, enough to handle all kinds of aircrafts including those landing on emergency.

Manufactured by Airbus, the A380 is a double-decked, wide-body four-engine jetliner.

It is considered the world's largest passenger airliner, implying that airports it operates in have upgraded facilities to accommodate it.

Meanwhile, TCAA has donated office equipment worth 5m/- to police at Mtwara Airport Station, Mtwara Airport.

The equipment were handed over to police by Mr Johari alongside other TCAA's staff at Mtwara Airport.

Mr Johari said the donation was in line with the authority's accountability and commitment to contribute to the wellbeing of communities and society.