Kenya Airways, Fly540 back to the skies as domestic flights resume

Kenya Airways, its sister carrier Jambojet, Safari Link and FLY 540 are among local airlines that took to the skies on Wednesday as domestic flights resumed after a four-month break.

The return of domestic flights follows a near four-month break forced upon by COVID-19 containment measures which saw inter-county travel in and out of the counties of Mombasa, Nairobi, Kilifi, Kwale and Mandera enforced at the end of March.

Jambojet was the first to return to the skies as it lifted passengers to Eldoret at 7:45 am ahead of Fly 540’s return with an 8am flight to Kisumu.

SafariLink has meanwhile marked its return with a flight into Lodwar while Kenya Airways premiered its return with a flight to the coastal city of Mombasa.

All carriers are expected to follow strict protocols provided by the Ministry of Health including the inflight wearing of masks by passengers and social distancing while boarding and disembarking from flights.

Speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia expects the return of the domestic flights to act as a benchmark as Kenya gears up to reopen its skies to international flights on August 1.

“We now look forwards to the return of international flights. These local flights will be the benchmark of success because if we don’t do it properly, the opportunity to fly internationally will be reversed,” he said.

The return of the flights will mark optimism for carriers who were left cash-strapped from the demise of passenger revenues leaving many struggling to meet fixed costs including staff salaries.