Domestic flights take to skies after Covid-19 restrictions

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala (pictured above) is expected to preside over the reception ceremony at the Moi International Airport (MIA) on Wednesday to welcome local flights that are taking to the skies for the first time after the government eased Covid-19 lockdown rules.

The move comes hours after Madaraka Express passenger train resumed services from Nairobi to Mombasa and back with reduced capacities. 
 
President Uhuru Kenyatta in his last state of the nation address on Covid-19 pandemic announced that domestic flights would resume operation on July 15 subject to virus prevention protocols.

President Uhuru had said that the new guidelines must be approved by both the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

KQ has deployed an Embraer plane for inaugural Nairobi-Mombasa trip.

International passenger flights will resume operations on August 1 in measures to cushion the aviation sector that has been hammered by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Balala, according to an itinerary by the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), seen by the Standard Digital will welcome the first flight from Nairobi operated by National carrier, Kenya Airways around mid-day.

Other flights expected to touch down at MIA include those operated by low cost carriers Jambojet and Fly540.

KTB Chief Executive Officer, Dr Betty Radier will be in Kisumu together with Kisumu Gorvenor Prof Anyang Nyongo to welcome another KQ flight from Nairobi.

All international flights to and from Kenya were suspended on March 25 in measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Kenya Airways had grounded almost all its operations save for cargo and government-approved repatriation flights.

Balala and his Transport counterpart James Macharia  had toured the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and MIA to access the readiness of the facilities to flights.