Kenya Airways resumes flights to Tanzania

National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) has resumed flights to Tanzania following the lifting of a ban on local aviation operators.

The carrier says it will operate two daily flights to Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam and three weekly flights to Zanzibar.

KQ made its first ‘post-lockdown’ flight to Dar es Salaam on Monday morning while flights to Zanzibar will return from this Saturday.

The flights to Zanzibar are set to increase traffic to Kenya Airway’s Nairobi New York route which resumes later at the end of October.

While lauding the resumption of the flights, Kenya Airways Group CEO Allan Kilavuka says the connectivity is crucial to the economies of both countries.

“We are pleased to resume our services to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar following this announcement by the Tanzanian Government. Tanzania is critical to both Kenya and East Africa’s economic growth and we look forward to our continued collaboration,” he said.

On Wednesday last week, the Tanzanian government through the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) made a turnaround to the decision banning local carriers after Kenya included arrivals from the country on its ‘safe-flights’ list.

Kenya’s decision to require arrivals from Tanzania to enter a 14-day quarantine following the resumption on international flights on August 1 saw the Tanzanian government put a blockade on local air operators in retaliation.