Qatar Airways extends Kenya reach with KQ deal

A Qatar Airways' plane in Kigali. FILE PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NMG

By BONFACE OTIENO
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Summary

• The interline agreement between Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways provides for domestic connections to Mombasa and Kisumu.
• The Doha-based airline resumed 14 weekly flights to Nairobi on August 7 following the easing of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Qatar Airways has expanded its partnership with Kenya Airways in a deal that will enable its passengers to make smooth transits to the coast and western Kenya.

The interline agreement extends the Doha-based carrier’s footprint to 43 destinations in Africa by providing domestic connections to Mombasa and Kisumu. This is in addition to 41 international connections across the continent, including Abidjan, Antananarivo, Bamako, and Monrovia.

“Since 2016, both airlines have witnessed the significant benefits interline cooperation have brought, providing passengers with unrivalled service and seamless connections,” said Qatar Airways Vice President for Africa, Hendrik Du Preez in a statement on Friday.

“The expansion of the interline agreement between Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways is a natural next step in the strengthening of our partnership,” Mr Du Preez said.

The airline resumed 14 weekly flights to Nairobi on August 7 following the easing of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

The global carrier had been running its operations to select destinations on special passes that allowed repatriates to fly home.

Qatar Airways plans to rebuild its network to more than 125 destinations including 20 in Africa, 11 in the Americas, 41 in Asia-Pacific, 38 in Europe, and 15 in the Middle East.