Uhuru, Kikwete agree to defuse tourism dispute

Tanzania tour operators will now access JKIA as KQ resumes normal flights to the country immediately, following a meeting between Presidents Uhuru and Kikwete Saturday in Windhoek, Kenya's foreign secretary Amina Mohammed has said.

The two heads of States discussed the decision by the Ministry of Tourism of Kenya to bar Tanzania registered vehicles from accessing the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the decision by Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority to reduce the frequency of Kenya Airways flights operating between Kenya and Tanzanian airports.

Tanzania’s decision to reduce Kenya Airways flights into its territory from a weekly schedule of 42 to 14 follows an earlier move by Kenya to bar Tanzanian-registered tour vans from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

BARRED FROM TANZANIA GAME PARKS

That measure in turn was prompted by steady complaints over many years that Kenyan tour operators are frequently barred from Tanzanian game parks while their counterparts could freely enter those on the Kenyan side.

Tanzania's foreign minister has also announced the normalisation of relations. The response from Tanzania was seen as heavily impacting on the operations of Kenya's national carrier Kenya Airways.

Both Presidents were in Windhoek to attend the 25th Anniversary and Inauguration of the third President of the Republic of Namibia, Hage G Geingob.