Summary
- The Tanzania-based Air Precision has cancelled planned resumption of flights to Nairobi just days after the government said it would not deny them traffic rights amid the ongoing standoff between the two countries.
- In a notice published on the airline’s website, Precision Air said it was suspending the plans because of low demand of passengers seeking to fly.
- Tanzania has stopped three Kenya airlines including Kenya Airways from flying to Dar, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro after Nairobi excluded it from the list of safe countries whose citizen will not be subjected to mandatory 14 days quarantine on arrival.
The Tanzania-based Air Precision has cancelled planned
resumption of flights to Nairobi just days after the government said it
would not deny them traffic rights amid the ongoing standoff between the
two countries.
In a notice published on the airline’s
website, Precision Air said it was suspending the plans because of low
demand of passengers seeking to fly.
Tanzania has
stopped three Kenya airlines including Kenya Airways from flying to Dar,
Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro after Nairobi excluded it from the list of
safe countries whose citizen will not be subjected to mandatory 14 days
quarantine on arrival.
“We regret to inform you that
due to insufficient demand, we have postponed the resumption of Nairobi
flights. A new date and schedule will be published on our website soon,”
said the airline in the notice.
The airline was to
resume flights tomorrow flying from Dar es Salaam via Zanzibar to
Nairobi and back, and would have capitalised on the absence of Kenya
Airways, which has a 40 percent stake on Precision Air, to meet the
needs of travellers.
Zanzibar is one of the routes with the highest traffic in the
region because of its resort nature that has made it popular with the
tourists.
Prior to the ban, KQ which operates its
regional hub from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, had a
permit to fly 14 times to Dar es Salaam every week, three times to
Kilimanjaro and two times to Zanzibar, mostly ferrying tourists and
business travelers between the two destinations.
Kenya
Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general, Gilbert Kibe said
talks are ongoing with Tanzania to allow resumption of KQ flights to
Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
Prior to the ban on Kenya
Airways flights, Kenya and Tanzania had been involved in retaliatory
border blockades which affected thousands of truckers and businesses.
Kenya’s
latest Covid-19 red-list is likely to heighten the stand-off with its
neighbour Tanzania—possibly leading to more trade wars between the two
nations.
Mr Kibe said Precision Air has an existing
traffic rights that will not be nullified on the account of the existing
stalemate between Kenya and Tanzania.
Kenya Airways,
whose traffic rights to Tanzania were still valid at the beginning of
this month when the carrier resumed international flights, were revoked
by the Tanzanian authorities on retaliatory grounds.
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