Kenya Airways to Resume Tanzania Flights as Nations End Row

By Eric Ombok, NAIROBI Kenya

The Kenya Airways Plc will resume flights to Tanzania after talks by the two nations’ transport ministers, rescinding a decision by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

The Tanzanian regulator had canceled plans to allow the airline to resume flights because it said Kenya excluded Tanzanians from the list of nationals allowed into its territory under revised coronavirus restrictions.

“We managed to clear the issues that we had,” Kenya’s Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said in a televised briefing Saturday. 

“We never stopped those flights, they never stopped our flights, and this very, very minor issue has been sorted out and we believe that if not today, by tomorrow we shall find Kenya Airways flying again.” He disclosed.

Kenya on Thursday announced that Tanzania was not among the initial list of 11 countries allowed to fly into Kenya.

In a communiqué announced by the same Macharia, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Uganda, France, Namibia,  Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Switzerland  and  Morocco who have mild and limited community transmission of COVID-19 will be allowed into Kenya.

In a letter to addressed to Kenya Airways next day, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority through its Director General, Hamza Johari, said that a decision had been made to revoke Kenya Airway's (KQ) clearance.

He said that Tanzania had noted its exclusion in the list of countries whose people will be allowed to travel into Kenya effective Saturday when international flights resume in Kenya.

"The Authority regrets to inform you that, on a reciprocal basis, the Tanzanian Government has decided to nullify its approval for Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar airports effective August 1, 2020 until further notice," the letter read.

Johari added that the letter rescinds all previous arrangements that permit KQ flights into Tanzania including a letter dated July 30, 2020. - Africa