National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced it will resume direct flights to the US on October 29th.
KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka said the airline will initially operate one weekly flight to and from JFK International Airport in New York citing low passenger demand. More flights will be added once the demand increases.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has affected travel demand worldwide. It will be a gradual resumption starting with one weekly service. As we are doing with all the other routes, we will monitor the trends and make the necessary adjustment to the frequency based on demand,” Kilavuka said.
KQ resumed international flights on August 1st when Kenya reopened its airspace following a four-month hiatus occasioned by the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
KQ reduced its routes by half to 27, dropping nonstop flights to and from the US as demand is expected to remain low for at least 18 months.
The airline launched direct flights to the US in October 2018, cutting the journey to 15 hours. The airline completed 594 trips to and from New York, flying at least 105,084 passengers as of October last year.
The temporary cancellation of KQ direct flights to the US means travelers have to change planes in Europe or the Gulf, a journey that can take an average of 20 hours. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, KQ was operating five weekly flights to New York.
