A huge cargo plane, from Abu-Dhabi which landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Northern Tanzania, has been a source of speculations on social media platforms.
Many have been insinuating that the big plane, an Antonov 124, which operates under Maximus Airlines, came to pick up live wildlife species from Tanzania and possibly transporting the lot to the United Arab Emirates.
Discussions surrounding Antonov’s presence in Tanzania have been heating up on social media platforms but not on positively way.
Most participants, many being scholars, politicians, ordinary residents and conservators have been fuming in rage, believing that wildlife trafficking was in details.
Many recalled past incidents when species of wildlife used to be smuggled out of the country.
In reaction to that, the management of Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company (KADCO) has just issued a statement to clarify the issue.
According to the Managing Director of Kilimanjaro Airport, Christine Mwakatobe, the plane from Abu-Dhabi was En-route to various ports of call on the continent.
However, the Airlines Flight tracker indicates that the Maximus Airlines Flight 6M3725 flew directly from Abu Dhabi to Kilimanjaro, with no stopovers in between.
Kilimanjaro Airports was among the terminals on which the Antonov was scheduled to deliver cargo and pick-up other consignments.
“The plane has been making trips around major airports in Africa, picking and delivering consignments,” explains Ms Mwakatobe in the statement.
She added that as of this moment, the Antonov has already flown away.
Mwakatobe advised people to ignore the rumours about wildlife trafficking being associated with the Maximus Airline and the Kilimanjaro Airport.