Condor set to resume flights to the Coast

More than a year since it flew from the Mombasa International Airport carrying passengers rushing back home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany’s leisure airliner Condor is planning to return to Kenya.

The airline is currently firming up plans for its return to the Kenyan airspace with flights to Mombasa from next year.

In an email interview with The Standard, Condor Communications Director Magdalene Hauser said the airline has had to stay away due to the pandemic.

“Condor will be resuming its flights out of German hubs to Mombasa and East Africa effective winter of 2022/2023,” she said.

Reacting to the latest news, stakeholders in the tourism industry at the Coast said they were happy that Condor will return to Mombasa and in particular the East African region after a long break occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19.

“We are happy as a tourism industry that this globally recognised brand is returning back to Kenya.

“It is another good sign of possible recovery before 2023,” Dr Sam Ikwaye, executive officer of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) said.

He added that the demand on the Kenyan route is growing and these international scheduled airlines have done their homework and stakeholders remain optimistic that business will coming back.

Dr Ikwaye said that with the industry on the road to full recovery, there was need for players in the sector to endure and up their game and ensure full compliance under the new normal.

He said that the government should come in handy and offer all the required support needed to make tourism thrive.

On mass Covid-19 vaccination, Ikwaye urged authorities to ensure that it is well managed to have a secure and protective society. 

Ikwaye at the same time challenged the county governments to do much more in the promotion of tourism.

Mohamed Hersi, director of operations at Pollman Tours and Safaris, termed the resumption of flights to Mombasa by Condor as excellent news for Kenyan tourism.

“This is very good news. We hope and pray that more charters will come our way and feed into the local tourism market,” Hersi said.

He added that Condor is an international airline with the reputation of serving many cities.

“Condor has always supported Mombasa tourism for a very long time and apart from supplying the Kenyan Coast with German tourists, it has also served the Swiss and Austrian markets respectively,” he said.