(5 minutes read)
· Kenya has joined the league of African countries, which have resumed the airline operations despite the fact that the decision had kicked off a controversy with Tanzania for the reciprocal ban of the flights between the two countries
· Kenyan Airways have resumed flights to 30 different destinations.
· The latest trend is to go for air bubbles, which would mean to start operations between the countries on a bilateral basis to select destinations
· If an airline of a particular country, say Kenya operates its services to another country (Mali) , the airlines of that country (Mali) should be allowed to operate air service to Kenya on a reciprocal basis
Kenya has joined the league of African countries, which have resumed the airline operations despite the fact that the decision had kicked off a controversy with Tanzania for the reciprocal ban of the flights between the two countries, as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com earlier . Kenyan Airways have resumed flights to 30 different destinations.
The expectation is that the airline can clock 50% of its load capacity. Based on the responses from the passengers, the airline would increase the number of routes and the frequency of flights. There are other African countries, which have resumed the air operations. They include Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Togo. Interestingly, the airlines have come out with different healthcare protocols. For instance, in Ivory Coast, a health declaration document form must be completed before travelling. In Togo, all travelers will be subject to a COVID 19 test on arrival and another on departure. This will not apply to transit passengers.
The latest trend is to go for air bubbles, which would mean to start operations between the countries on a bilateral basis to select destinations. That would mean, if an airline of a particular country, say Kenya operates its services to another country (Mali) , the airlines of that country (Mali) should be allowed to operate air service to Kenya on a reciprocal basis.
The controversy surrounding mutual ban of air services between Kenya and Tanzania has a history. Tanzania banned Kenya Airways from entering the country as Kenya’s services airlines resumed on last Saturday. This was triggered by Tanzania’s controversial handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The country (Tanzania) b began reopening the air services some two months ago. This had attracted a fair share of controversy. Tanzanian President John Magufuli refused to impose lockdowns or social distancing measures. There was also an allegation that the statistics being released by Tanzania about the number of infections in the country was fudged and did not reflect the ground level reality. This has caused concern in Kenya and other neighboring countries. Various agencies including the WHO had cast their doubts on the data being dished out by Tanzania, when President Magufuli declared Tanzania was free of coronavirus in June.
