Vic Falls airport upgrading massive game changer

Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
THE ongoing $150 million upgrading exercise at the Victoria Falls International Airport is set to change the face of the region and attract more tourists to the resort town, a hospitality industry official said.
Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) chief executive Ross Kennedy said the Victoria Falls International Airport was going to be a massive game changer, not only for Zimbabwe, but the region at large.

“We will have a new airport capable of landing and handling in all conditions, long haul wide body jets,” he said in a statement.
“This would turn Victoria Falls into a new regional hub, firstly for tourism, but it also has the potential to become a commercial centre.”

Latest reports indicate tourist arrivals at Victoria Falls are growing with 8.7 percent increase in arrivals in the first six months of this year compared to last year.
The resort town of Victoria Falls, said Kennedy, was one of the seven natural wonders of the world situated in the middle of Southern Africa, a natural jump off point for visitors to the continent.

“It is also the hub of several countries (Botswana, Zambia and Namibia) surrounded by incredible wildlife parks, and relatively few people,” he said.
Kennedy said he hoped that the uni-visa, mooted for visitors to Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, would be introduced next year to ease the of flow of tourists across borders.

Victoria Falls Airport manager Ronnie Masawi said the new airport would accommodate passengers three times more.
“It would have an annual capacity of 1.2 million international travellers and 500,000 domestic passengers,” Masawi said.

“The developments include the construction of a new international terminal building, and the rehabilitation of the existing one into a domestic terminal.”
A new 4km runway, capable of landing the biggest passenger planes, including the A380, would be built, while the existing runway is set to become a taxiway.

A new control tower with state of the art equipment, and a new fire station, would also be built.