JKIA gets green light for direct flights to any U.S. destination

Kenya Airports Authority has received the Last Point of Departure (LPD) clearance for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Also Read: Uhuru Kenyatta meets Donald Trump at the White House

The clearance granted by the American Government now gives the green light for airlines to fly directly from JKIA to any destination in the U.S.

““This is a major achievement for Kenya as JKIA becomes one of the elite African airports to be certified as a last point of departure to the United States. JKIA is now poised to become the premier hub in Africa,” KAA Managing Director Jonny Andersen said in a statement.

The LPD clearance was the last remaining hurdle in the planned direct flight operations for Kenya Airways.

The airline has scheduled its first direct flight out of JKIA to New York on October 28, 2018.

Last year, Kenya obtained a Category one status that allowed direct flights from the country to the U.S.

This followed years of conceited efforts by the government through the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.

“Category One is a status granted to a country.  On the other hand, Last Point of Departure is granted to airports,” KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe said during a recent interview with Citizen Digital.

This comes after the historic meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington D.C.

During his visit, President Kenyatta also met with several American business delegates where he witnessed the signing of investment deals worth USD 238 million(Ksh.23.9billion).