Nairobi — Tanzania’s civil aviation agency has lifted a suspension on Kenyan aviation operators after the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) revoked the 14-day mandatory quarantine for all passengers arriving from the country.
Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) had suspended Kenyan operators in retaliation to Kenya’s decision to subject passengers from Tanzania to a compulsory 14-day quarantine.
"The resumption and restoration for all Kenyan operators is with immediate effect and KCAA has been informed accordingly," the agency said.
TCAA Director General Hamza Johari, through a statement, said that the removal of the mandatory requirement guarantees immediate resumption and restoration of flights for Kenya Airways, Fly 540, Safarilink Aviation and AirKenya Express.
"This is to confirm that the Government of Kenya removed the requirement of 14 day mandatory requirement for all arriving passengers from the United Republic of Tanzania, in view of that and on a reciprocal basis, Tanzania has now lifted the suspension of all Kenyan operators," he said.
Tanzania had initially blocked Kenya Airways from her airspace following Kenya’s decision to impose mandatory 14-day COVID-19 quarantine on her passengers.
The two countries had been locked up in a disagreement over the management of COVID-19 after Kenya locked out her neighbor from the list of countries allowed in with minimal restrictions after it resumed international passenger flights on August 1.
Tanzania’s exclusion from the list was despite Tanzania being declared by its President John Magufuli "a COVID-19 free zone."
"The authority regrets to inform you that on a reciprocal basis, the Tanzanian Government has decided to nullify its approval for Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Dar/Kilimanjaro/Zanzibar effective August 1, 2020 until further notice," Johari noted in a protest letter following the August 1 decision.
