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Pressure mounts for more direct flights to the coast

Mombasa airport

The main entrance to Moi International Airport in Mombasa. Stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry at the coast have stepped up the push to implement the open skies policy to allow more international flights to land in Mombasa and Malindi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Emirates, Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai and KLM are among the airlines that have all been denied licenses to fly directly to Mombasa.
  • In July, outgoing Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said Kenya is working to open its skies for more carriers to fly directly to Mombasa.
  • Last week, German international leisure airline Condor resumed its operations in Kenya after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry at the coast have stepped up the push to implement the open skies policy to allow more international flights to land in Mombasa and Malindi.

The players are pegging their hopes on the move to help revive the sector, which slumped significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirates, Qatar Airways, Fly Dubai and KLM are among the airlines that have all been denied licenses to fly directly to Mombasa.

Pride Inn Hotels Managing Director Hasnain Noorani said the national government should consider allowing more scheduled flights into the region.

“Mombasa County, its people and the tourism and hospitality sector players should look forward to a very promising future should this be implemented,” he said. 

Kenya Coast Tourist Association chief executive Julius Owino said most tourists want to travel directly from their homes to Mombasa without connecting flights in Nairobi.

“These airlines are key for us in getting international tourists. We would like the national government to consider the open skies policy which will see the industry fully recover,” said Mr Owino. He said tourism was yet to recover in the region partly due to the low number of charter flights.

Direct flights

In July, outgoing Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said Kenya is working to open its skies for more carriers to fly directly to Mombasa.

“We shall embark on a series of campaigns to position Mombasa as an island tourist town. To make this happen, we shall start allowing different airlines that have sent their applications to my office to be allowed to fly direct to Mombasa. Some of the airlines that are willing to start flying to Mombasa include Turkish Airlines, Qatar and Ethiopian Airlines,” said the CS.

According to Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Coast Executive Sam Ikwaye, allowing international flights in Mombasa would be positioned globally to leverage such direct flights. 

Last week, German international leisure airline Condor resumed its operations in Kenya after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Condor stopped flying to Kenya at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Some 88 German tourists flew into Mombasa through the Moi International Airport while another 122 were in transit to Zanzibar.

In Malindi, Pasquel Tirito, the chairperson of Jaracanda Hotels Watamu, challenged the government to engage experts in the tourism sector for better performance of the sector. He said marketing tourism should also be a priority for the government.