Kenya Airways resumes direct flights to New York

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka

Kenya Airways (KQ) has resumed non-stop flights from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to New York City John F Kennedy Airport.

The weekly non-stop flight resumed on Sunday, November 29 after COVID-19 imposed break, with customers who book tickets before December 10 offered discounts.

“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,” said Allan Kilavuka CEO Kenya Airways.

With the Christmas season around the corner, it is expected that people will be travelling for the festivities adhering to new travel measures.

“The fundamental importance of offering passengers optimal connectivity and reliability despite the pandemic, and more so during this holiday season cannot be gainsaid. We are excited to offer more travel options with global connections, bridging long distances, and physically bringing families and friends together. We are also proud to enable travel for business and leisure, which have a direct impact on economic growth and job creation for Kenya,” added Mr. Kilavuka.

The carrier has said that it will ensure that the highest level of sanitation is maintained, saying that each flight will be fitted with sanitizer stations and there will be limited interaction between crew and passengers.

“All the aircraft are also fitted with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which ensures the quality of air onboard is maintained, using a constant filtration and replacement system.”

Kenya Airways suspended passenger flights to John F Kennedy Airport in New York City on March 27 2020, with the exemption of cargo and special repatriation flights, due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
It was set to resume operations in October but put aside the plan over increased cancellation of flight bookings.
The national carrier last operated the passenger flights using the route in April after disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic. Kenya Airways resumed international flights in August after suspending all its operations in March following the government's directives on Covid-19.

The airline launched its inaugural flight to the United States in October 2018.