Only 2% of passengers arriving internationally in Kenya continued to their final destination on domestic flights, according to a new report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
- •The new report shows that 67% of passengers either finished their journey at the point of entry or continued traveling using a different mode of transport.
- •31% of all passengers arriving in Kenya from abroad continued their journey to a destination in another country.
- •The trend which rewinds to 2014 indicates that Kenya’s international air connectivity index has increased by 34% within the Africa region and by 30% with all other regions.
Africa is the largest international market for passenger flows from Kenya, followed by Europe and the Middle East. Almost 858,700 passengers departed from Kenya to another country in Africa (37% of the total), 644,100 to Europe (28% of the total), and 297,600 to the Middle East (13% of the total).
London is ranked as the top most popular city destination from Kenya followed by Entebbe, Dubai, Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Zanzibar, Kigali, Milan and Franfurt respectively.
“In Kenya, 21,100 people are directly employed in aviation, generating US$ 1.2 billion of economic output, equal to 1.1% of total GDP. Additional benefits are generated by the wider supply chain, employee spending, and tourism activities contributing a total of USD 3.3 billion to GDP and 459,500 jobs,” IATA says in the report, that also shows that 380,000 tonnes of air cargo were transported through airports in Kenya in 2023.
Tourism supported by aviation contributes US$ 1.2 billion to the country’s GDP and employs 242,200 people. International tourists to Kenya are estimated to contribute US$ 1.9 billion annually economy through the purchase of goods and services from local businesses.
