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- Tanzania has banned Kenya’s national carrier from flying into the country
- Kenya Airways resumed international commercial flights on August 1st after grounding flights for more than four months due to the pandemic
Subsequent to Kenya’s decision to bar passengers from a list of countries including Tanzania to enter Kenya after commercial flights resumed, Tanzania has banned Kenya’s national carrier from flying into the country. Kenya Airways resumed international commercial flights on August 1st after grounding flights for more than four months due to the pandemic. The inaugural flights were to the United Kingdom and Ethiopia.
The Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) justified its move by stating that Kenya Airways flights were being banned “on a reciprocal basis.” TCCA Director General Hamza Johari informed his government’s decision in a letter sent to Kenya Airways. The decision will affect Kenya Airways (KQ) flights between Nairobi and Dar/Kilimanjaro/Zanzibar effective August 1, 2020.
Since the outbreak of the Pandemic, the tensions between Kenya and Tanzania had intensified. Soon after the outbreak of the pandemic in East Africa, Kenya blocked Tanzanian truck drivers from entering the country, to curb the spread of the disease.
Tanzania had faced criticism for its relaxed approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic particularly President John Magufuli’s refusal to impose lockdowns or physical distancing measures. Further the country has refused to release figures on infections since late April. The President also decided to open the economy two months ago. This has caused concern among Tanzania’s neighbours as well as WHO.
