Carriers scramble for Kenya's profitable airspace
Tourists from Poland arrive at the Moi international Airport, Mombasa. The tourism sector received a boost after Small Planet Airlines made their first charter flight from Poland to the Kenyan coasta. Many carriers are scrambling to use Kenya's lucrative airspace. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- West Wind Aviation Ltd seeks to offer passengers and freight services between Nairobi, East, West, Central and Southern Africa from its current base at Wilson Airport.
- Italy’s Neos S.P.A and Meridiana Fly have sought the nod to operate chartered flights on a bi-weekly basis from Malpensa to Mombasa and a weekly service from Katowice-Hurghada to Mombasa, with visitors from Poland and Egypt.
Thirty-six passenger and cargo transport providers have applied for licences to operate local and international flights, signalling heightened interest in the country’s aviation sector.
Applications filed with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority indicate excitement among tourists seeking to devour Kenya’s wildlife and beaches, and business travellers planning to ferry goods to various local destinations.
Zimbabwe-based Global Africa Aviation Ltd has sought permission to have cargo flights from Harare to Nairobi while West Wind Aviation Ltd seeks to offer passengers and freight services between Nairobi, East, West, Central and Southern Africa from its current base at Wilson Airport.
OPERATE CHARTERED FLIGHTS
Italy’s Neos S.P.A and Meridiana Fly have sought the nod to operate chartered flights on a bi-weekly basis from Malpensa to Mombasa and a weekly service from Katowice-Hurghada to Mombasa, with visitors from Poland and Egypt.
Others include Poland’s Small Planet Airlines that plans weekly flights to Kenya while Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation has sought permission to run cargo services from Nairobi to Jeddah and back.
On the East African front, Auric Air Services Ltd, Tanzanian Air Services and Air Excel Ltd, have sought permission to provide regional passenger services, thanks to the recently signed air traffic protocol that gives regional operators from East Africa Community automatic rights to use sister facilities at no extra cost.
Five Forty Aviation and Barracuda Airways Holdings Ltd plan to launch weekly flights to Homa Bay while East African Safari Air Express Ltd wants to be allowed to fly to Kabarnet weekly.
