Today 15-Jul-2020, at around 10:00am, Kenya’s signature flag carrier Kenya Airways took to the skies with the first domestic flight after over three months partially grounded. This however comes in the middle of strict set measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on and off board.
Other subordinate airlines such as Jambojet have also resumed domestic flights. The revamping of domestic flights comes on after Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta while appearing for a public address on July 6 ordered the resumption of flights to save the East African nation’s fragile economy chocking under the impact of Covid-19.
The first domestic flight started with flights to Mombasa and Kisumu that took off this morning at an event flagged off by Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.
At the flag off ceremony, Macharia said that “The local flights will act as a benchmark of our success; if this is not done correctly then the opportunity to fly internationally may be reversed.”
Aboard the flight were majorly business people and people who were stranded in Nairobi when Kenya imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Joseph Ogolla, a businessman locked in Nairobi told, Anadolu Agency: “We hope that business will come back to work as it used to be. I was locked in the city for three months, I am glad to be heading back home.”
The Kenya airlines took it to their facebook page in a post to show gratitude to have restarted domestic flights.
However, travelers will have to brace themselves for a markedly different environment at Kenya’s airports and aboard aircrafts occasioned by new safety measures.
For instance, passengers will now be required to sanitise their hands several times, starting from the main gate up until the point of boarding the plane. They will also pass through temperature screening points and be expected to wear face masks at all times.
Additionally, Kenya Airways announced that no meals will be served during the flights, noting that attendants’ and passengers’ physical contact will also be limited, and the planes have also been fitted with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration systems to clean the air during flights. Suspension of meals while on board is one of the measures in place for resumption of local flights.
The Kenya government hopes the domestic flights will contribute to boost the country’s economy as it undergoes phased reopening with the easing of strict COVID-19 protective measures it implemented.
Sitting and queuing at the airport has also been reconfigured to ensure social distancing, with signs placed at different points for passengers to know where to stand or sit.
CS Macharia said the government will rely on the performance of local flights to see how to go about resuming international flights.
“It is up to the KQ management to ensure it uses this period to grow demand. If the performance of domestic flights will be poor, we may have to reschedule reopening of international flights,” Mr Macharia said.
KQ Managing Director Allan Kilavuka said the airline already projects that demand will rise, adding that the second flight to Mombasa — scheduled for Wednesday afternoon — is fully booked.
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