International airlines have started warming their engines for Kenya as the country prepares to resume international flights from August 1.
This follows the easing of international travel restrictions by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his last Covid-19 address on July 6.
The airlines, as revealed by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Sunday, are Qatar Airways, Emirates, British Airways, KLM and Air France.
Emirates will be the first to resume operations by offering a repatriation flight today from Nairobi to Dubai.
British Airways will then follow suit on August 1, operating four flights weekly on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Qatar Airways and KLM will both resume international travel into and out of Nairobi on August 3, with the latter also offering four weekly flights on the same days as the British Airways.
Qatar Airways, however said it will offer 14 weekly flights subject to regulatory approval, further advising passengers to check the information published by the government of their destination country before traveling.
The fifth airline, Air France, will resume operations on August 6, with just one flight to Paris from Nairobi every Friday.
The return to the skies by the international airlines comes ten days after domestic flights resumed operations.
National Carrier Kenya Airways and its subsidiary Jambojet are among airlines that are already operating domestic flights.
The aviation industry has taken a lion’s share of the coronavirus heat with most countries having suspended all international flights.The passenger business of the global air transport industry is estimated by IATA to make revenue losses between $63 billion (Sh6.3 trillion) and $113 billion (Sh11.3 trillion) in 2020.Kenya Airways, reported a gross loss of Sh12.98 billion, a 71 per cent drop compared to Sh7.55 billion loss the previous year