(file photo). Nairobi — More than 19 days since Kenya announced it had struck a deal with Dar es Salaam over resumption of Kenya Airways flights not much has happened and there are no KQ flights to Tanzania as yet.
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director general Gilbert Kibe said they are waiting for a word from Dar es Salaam, but expressed optimism that the outcome will be positive.
"No response yet (from Tanzania)," said Mr Kibe in a text message Tuesday.
After the meeting by the two aviation regulators, Kenya was told to wait for response from Tanzania.
The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) on July 30 cancelled plans to allow Kenya Airways to resume flights, citing the decision by Nairobi to exclude Tanzania from the list of countries whose nationals would be allowed entry under revised coronavirus restrictions.
The TCAA initially allowed KQ to resume scheduled services to Dar and Zanzibar.
Also Read
Norway expels Russian diplomat after spying arrest
Ronald Koeman officially named new Barcelona coach
Diamond Platnumz and Zari reunion rumours persist
Kenya’s Transport minister James Macharia announced early this month that the Tanzanian aviation regulator had lifted the ban and allowed the national carrier to resume flights on August 2 but this never came to pass despite the minister referring to standoff as a minor issue.Kenya Airways resumed international flights on August 1, heading to about 30 destinations for the first time since the routes were suspended in March due to the virus out break.Tanzania is one of the critical routes for KQ and the national carrier had planned two daily flights to Dar and three weekly flights to the resort city of Zanzibar.KQ resumed domestic flights mid-July and targeted resumption of international flights in August as part of a recovery plan after losing Sh10 billion in the six months to June.The national carrier got an approval from the TCAA on July 30 to resume Tanzania flights.KQ said for the rest of the year the airline expected demand to remain below 50 percent of capacity, but would increase flight frequencies depending on demand.In an interview with Reuters a fortnight ago, KQ chief executive Allan Kilavuka said 2020 was like a lost year.
