Kenya Airways Resumes New York Direct Flights After 9 Months

Kenya Airways has announced the resumption of direct flights to New York after missing the skies for 9 months that had been brought about by the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic. The airline delayed resuming the flights due to higher Covid-19 cases in the US.

“The New York-Nairobi route is key toward rebuilding and reconnecting our global network as we see great signs of optimism in the recovery of air travel since we resumed flights in July.

This optimism is also driven by the easing of restrictions for both transit and inbound passengers in Kenya as well as the robust health and safety measures that are in place to protect them and our staff,” KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka said in a statement.

Kenya Airways is one of the major hit airlines by the Covid-19 pandemic after various countries, including Kenya imposed cessation of movement in and out of countries to cut down on the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. This led to massive losses for the airline.

The carrier, which has already issued a profit warning, will now be flying on Tuesdays and Saturdays, down from a frequency of five flights before the coronavirus outbreak that forced it to ground its fleet. Analysts say the New York route has not been that profitable for the airline.

Passengers traveling to New York will pay an average airfare of between 73,450 to 234,690 shillings in the next one week for a one-way ticket depending on the date of travel. The New York route is a crucial destination for KQ as the carrier uses its hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to connect passengers to the US from other countries.

However, the second wave of Covid-19 is threatening countries once again with some like France and the UK having imposed lockdowns to cut down on the spread.

READ: Kenya Airways Postpones Resumption Of New York Flights