- Kenyans continued to be barred from the UK, a setback to Kenya’s efforts to be lifted out of the travel embargo. The Red List of UK was updated last week amid concerns about the spread of new Covid-19 variants.
- Kenya was included in the Red list in April, triggering a tit-for-tat travel blockade from Nairobi.
- In May, Kenya lifted the ban on flights between Nairobi and London and eased restrictions.
Kenyans continued to be barred from the UK, a setback to Kenya’s efforts to be lifted out of the travel embargo. The Red List of UK was updated last week amid concerns about the spread of new Covid-19 variants. Kenya was included in the Red list in April, triggering a tit-for-tat travel blockade from Nairobi. In May, Kenya lifted the ban on flights between Nairobi and London and eased restrictions.
It may be noted that the travel restrictions threatened UK-Kenya bilateral trade, economic and security relations. Despite that England declined to downgrade the movement limits. UK’s decision to include Kenya in the list prompted more than 50 countries to deny access to Kenyans in their bid to protect themselves against new variants of coronavirus. Apart from UK, Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Bulgaria and Singapore top the list of countries that have banned or placed restrictions on holders of Kenyan passports.
The UK decision is a major setback to tourism not only in Kenya but across the continent. Nairobi has been a major hub for connecting flights between the continent and Europe. Kenya receives a lot of tourists from UK. Tourist arrivals from the UK dropped by 62 percent to 16,264 in the first half of this year from 42,341 in the same period last year.
