Kenya Airways To Resume New York Flights In October

By Getrude Matayo

Kenya Airways will resume Nairobi New York flights in October following the lifting of the restriction of movements as international fights resume.

KQ which had all its passenger flights grounded for months is said to have been losing billions since it stopped its international flights over covid-19 fear.

The national carrier will start with one flight a week with frequency increasing based on demand, according to Chairman Michael Joseph.

“I think we will go once a week and then we will start to build. If we see the demand is up, we will go two times or three times a week. I don’t know when we will go back to daily flights to the US because of the pandemic,” Joseph said.

Kenya Airways has been working closely with the Government through the Ministry of Health and Kenya Airports Authority to implement a wide range of safety measures and protocols as they gear up for the resumption of passenger services.

KQ, as it is known by its international code, started direct flights to the US in October 2018, cutting the journey to 15 hours.

Kenya Airports Authority on Sunday morning received Lufthansa, British Airways and KLM flights for the first time since the reopening of Kenyan airspace to international flights

According to Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) acting managing director Alex Gitari, the authority had lost 80 percent of its business which comes from international passenger flights.

“Covid-19 Pandemic is undoubtedly a global crisis of unprecedented proportions; the enormous aftermath on the aviation industry has affected all airport users, workforce and the whole supply chain,” He Gitari.

He added that KAA regards the resumption of international flights as a significant milestone in the aviation industry which has been one of the hardest hits by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.