Kenya Airways to airlift bodies for Sh25,000

Kenya Airways subsidiary KQ Cargo will transport coffins from Nairobi to Kisumu, Mombasa and Malindi and vice-versa for up to Sh35,000. PHOTO | FILE |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Airline working with morgues to transfer coffins to domestic airports
• Transporting bodies by road using a hearse from Nairobi to Mombasa and Malindi costs approximately Sh75,000 while it costs an average of Sh65,000 from Nairobi to Kisumu.

By JOSEPHINE MOSONGO
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Bereaved Kenyans now have the option of transporting the bodies of their loved ones by air after national carrier Kenya Airways unveiled a new funeral-based cargo service.

In an advertisement in the Daily Nation, the airline said it will airlift coffins to designated domestic airports as part of a special repatriation service. The service targets destinations between Nairobi, the Coast and the western part of the country.

Through KQ Cargo, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, the national carrier will transport human remains from Nairobi to Kisumu, Mombasa and Malindi.
The airline will also transport coffins from Mombasa, Kisumu and Malindi to Nairobi respectively at Sh25,000. 

Transporting bodies by road using a hearse from Nairobi to Mombasa and Malindi costs approximately Sh75,000 while it costs an average of Sh65,000 from Nairobi to Kisumu.

At the same time, KQ will transport bodies from Kisumu to Mombasa and vice versa and Kisumu to Malindi for Sh35,000. The rates, the advert says, are valid until March 31 next year.

Hiring a hearse to transport a body by road from Mombasa to Kisumu or vice versa and Malindi to Kisumu or vice versa costs approximately Sh150,000.

Although the service has been available since 2004, it has been used mainly by VIPs because of a lack of public awareness and the general perception that air transport is costly.

But a spot check of Nairobi funeral homes revealed that KQ Cargo’s rates are significantly lower compared to transportation by road, even though the bereaved have to hire a hearse for onward transportation from the airport of destination.

KQ has stepped up the awareness campaign through newspapers, FM stations and at the Garden Square, a popular meeting place in Nairobi where families and relatives meet for burial arrangements.

To use KQ’s service, families or relatives of the deceased have to produce a certificate of embalming from the morgue, a burial permit and a copy or letter of cause of death from the hospital.

They must also show a copy of the deceased’s national identification card for verification before the cargo can be screened.

in addition to producing these documents, the shippers also have to identify the recipient of the cargo at the destination.

The airline says it works in partnership with Lee Funeral Home, the University of Nairobi’s Chiromo Mortuary, Kenyatta National Hospital, Umash Funeral Home, Montezuma & Monalisa Funeral Home and Kenyatta University to supervise the transportation of the corpses to the airport.

CENTS AND SENSE

Cost by air vs cost by road

• From Mombasa, Kisumu and Malindi to Nairobi respectively for Sh25,000.
• From Kisumu to Mombasa or vice versa and Kisumu to Malindi (or vice versa) at Sh35,000
• Transporting bodies by road using a hearse from Nairobi to Mombasa and Malindi costs approximately Sh75,000
• Hiring a hearse and travelling by road from Mombasa to Kisumu or -vice versa- and Malindi to Kisumu or vice versa costs approximately Sh150,000.