- Turkish Airline and Qatar Airway are expected to resume flying directly in August and October respectively.
- Before the 2007 post-election violence, Moi International Airport Mombasa was receiving over 36 weekly charter flights.
Image: LABAN WALOGA
The national government should entice more scheduled and charter flights directly to Mombasa, tourism stakeholders in the region have said.
Mombasa is currently receiving only two charter flights weekly—Tui Poland and Bulgaria.
Earlier this year, the Kenya Coast received the first ever Romanian charter flight to the region, followed by another Ukraine-operated charter flight Bees Airline, direct flight from Kiev in Ukraine to Mombasa.
However, they are yet to resume another circuit to the region.
The Moi International Airport in Mombasa was only receiving one scheduled flight, the Ethiopia Airline, according to airport data.
However, on Sunday, a German airline -Lufthansa Group carrier— launched its first commercial flight from Frankfurt to Mombasa, increasing the number of scheduled flights to Mombasa, to two.
Eurowings Discover, the newest leisure airline within the Lufthansa Group, will be having two weekly flights to Mombasa, which is expected to increase to four flights in March 2022.
Speaking during the reception of the inaugural flight at the Moi International Airport Mombasa, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala said the flight was a testament to the strides Kenya is making in the recovery of the tourism sector.
“Kenya has been making great progress as a destination in attracting tourists from different markets and especially from Europe. This flight is yet another milestone in the recovery of activities in the country,” Balala said.
Two more scheduled flights; Turkish Airline and Qatar Airways are expected to resume flying the Mombasa route from August and October respectively.
The flights had been suspended due to the global outbreak of Covid-19.
Before the 2007 post-election violence, Moi International Airport Mombasa used to receive over 36 weekly charter flights. It was not until 2018 when the flights started to resume in the country.
In 2019, at least 15 flights resumed weekly flights to Mombasa, but the gains were against disrupted by Covid-19 in 2020.
Mohammed Hersi, a veteran hotelier at the Coast region said the national government should now allow more direct flights to Mombasa because it is globally recognised as a tourist hub.
“There is a reason why Mombasa is designated as an international airport and should never play second fiddle to Nairobi,” Hersi said.
He said the ever-discerning travellers are looking for direct travel to their final destination, therefore, the government should allow more flights to the region.
“We have about 40,000 rooms to fill in the Kenyan Coast hotels. Every room that is occupied, means employment and the multiplier effect is huge. Any room that sleeps empty is a loss to an investor,” he added.
Hersi said other cities like Cape Town and Durban have allowed direct flights.
He urged the government to allow the Royal Dutch Airline- KLM, the Emirati low-cost airline-Air Arabia and the largest United Arab Emirates airline- Emirates to start flying directly to Mombasa.
He said Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, was also keen on direct flights from Mumbai to Mombasa before the outbreak of Covid-19.
Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers executive director Sam Ikwaye said the more flights come to the region, the more investments.
“Many investors had adopted a wait-and-see attitude since the onset of Covid-19, but if we have more flights coming to the region, investors will be more than willing to put up businesses in the region,” said Ikwaye.
He said the Coast tourism sector has high chances of recovery before 2023 if the government allows more flights to the region.
“We should be able to open our skies so that we can receive more flights. The more we have, the merrier,” said Ikwaye.
-Edited by SKanyara