Sumbawanga, located in southwestern Tanzania’s Rukwa region, officially opened for commercial flights on April 24, 2026, after a comprehensive rebuild that began in 2018. Air Tanzania inaugurated the airport with the arrival of a DHC-8-Q400 from Dodoma. The airport, which has been without regular scheduled service since the early 1990s, was rebuilt at a cost of TZS62.1 billion Tanzanian shillings (USD23.8 million), co-financed by the Tanzanian government and the European Investment Bank. Air Tanzania CEO Peter Ulanga announced plans to introduce a 2x weekly service to Sumbawanga in the near future, although did not specify from where.