The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) with support from the Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA), on Wednesday led discussions amongst stakeholders in the aviation sector both in government and private sector, to explore initiatives to spur the economy and revamp the aviation sector that has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The high-level stakeholder engagement is a precursor to the National Aviation Conference to be held in the first quarter of 2021.
The meeting brought together leaders from the Senate, Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure, and Kenya Airports Authority; together with stakeholders from the aviation industry such as Kenya Airways, the Kenya Airline Pilots Association, and Kenya Association of Travel Agents.
The focus of the meeting was to start a discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on the aviation industry and allied sectors, and come up with proposals to mitigate the adverse effect of the pandemic on these sectors.
In her remarks, KEPSA Deputy CEO Martha Cheruto noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had affected businesses globally with aviation industry being among the worst affected sectors.
"We hope that from today’s deliberations, we can delve specifically into how these issues can be mitigated and what policy and regulatory interventions can be introduced to cushion businesses in the sector," She said.
Cheruto added that the aviation sector plays a key role in economic growth and development as a logistics powerhouse, and revenue generator for Kenya and the region due to its linkages with various sectors.
Kenya Association of Airline Pilots General Secretary Capt. Murithi Nyagah stated that despite passenger travel being hit hard, cargo is still doing well.
He encouraged the government to support local airlines and make it competitive for them to compete with other airlines in order to boost the economy locally and find a balance on reciprocity on market share when doing business with international airlines.
"We need a strategy to be able to continue operating and grow the business even as the pandemic continues raging on within," Capt. Nyagah said.
"Despite passenger travel being hit hard, cargo is still doing well. We hoped that Govt would support local airlines and make it competitive for them to compete with other airlines in order to boost our economy locally, and find a balance on reciprocity on market share when doing business with international airlines," he added.On his part, Kenya Airways Head of Regulatory Affairs Dalmas Okendo revealed that the national carrier was growing steadily.He, however, noted that Covid-19 […]
