Kenya Airways (KQ) has announced plans to increase the frequency of flights to London after Kenya was removed from the UK’s red list.
Kenya’s state-owned airline will add four flights weekly up from the current two.
Europe accounted for 20 per cent of KQ’s revenue last year, bringing in KSh10 Billion out of the KSh62 billion that the airline posted.
KQ ADDS TWO ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS ON NAIROBI-LONDON ROUTE
“We shall be adding flights to the UK to four a week with a possibility of a fifth one depending on demand,” said the airline.
Following the decision to place Kenya on the UK red list, the Kenyan Government suspended all passenger flights to the UK, effective midnight 9th April 2021.
Kenya also retaliated by requiring all passengers originating from or transiting through UK airports to go through mandatory 14-day isolation at a government-designated facility at their own cost upon entry into Kenya.
While in isolation, they were to be subjected to take two PCR COVID-19 tests, on day 2 and day 8 of their quarantine, at their own cost.
Cargo flights between the two countries have continued to operate through specific protocols.
All passengers that had made bookings to the UK were advised that the tickets were to remain valid for a year until 31st March 2022.
KQ is deploying additional flights on the Nairobi-London route at a time when the summer season, which is normally characterised by high demand for air travel, is coming to an end.
KQ attributed its losses to a sharp decline in summer bookings.
The National Carrier made a Net Loss of KSh 11.5 Billion in H1 2021 compared to a Net Loss of KSh 14.3 Billion in H1, 2020, a performance the airline blames on depressed demand occasioned by the impact of COVID-19 on its key markets.
