Tanzania lifts ban on all Kenyan flights

DODOMA, Tanzania

Tanzania has lifted the ban on Kenyan flights following a move by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to exempt Tanzanian nationals from the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Kenya.

A statement from Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) on Wednesday September 16 read, “The resumption and restoration of flights for all Kenyan operators namely Kenya Airways, Fly 540 Limited, Safarilink Aviation and Airkenya Express Limited is with immediate effect.”

Yesterday, Kenya placed Tanzania in the list of countries whose citizens are exempted from the 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival into the country.

“This is to confirm that the Government of Kenya removed the requirement of 14 day mandatory requirement for all arriving passengers from the United Republic of Tanzania, in view of that and on a reciprocal basis, Tanzania has now lifted the suspension of all Kenyan operators,” he said.

There are now 147 countries in the list released by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), including East African member states of Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, and Burundi.

This comes in the wake of a two-month-long flight row between the two countries.

Tanzania nullified its approval for Kenya Airways to fly into the country after Kenya declined to allow in Tanzanians. Kenya allowed selected International flights.

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) Director-General Hamza Johari told reporters that they were aware of the changes.

“We have seen the statement, we are working on it before stating our position,” Johari said.

Late August, Tanzania banned three Kenyan airlines from its airspace. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) nullified the approval granted to Fly 540, Air Kenya Express, and Safarilink Aviation.

Johari said that the decision was based on the “ongoing dispute between the two countries”.

He further pointed out that the ban would not be lifted unless travellers from Tanzania were accorded the same treatment as those on the list of who was allowed into the Kenyan airspace.

“Some countries are allowed to enter Kenya without the same conditions despite having very high rates of Covid-19 infections,” he said.

TCAA said it would not allow any Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar effective August 1.

Tanzanian authorities have maintained that the ban on Kenyan airlines would only be reviewed if Kenya dropped its nationals from the list.