Emirates plans to restore services to a further six destinations from 15 July to 15 August, bringing the carrier’s network to 58 cities.

The Middle Eastern carrier plans to resume flights to Geneva from 15 July, Los Angeles from 22 July, Dar es Salaam from 1 August, Prague and Sao Paulo from 2 August, and Boston from 15 August.

“We’ve seen an uptick in customer interest and demand since the announcement of Dubai’s re-opening, and also with the increased travel options that we offer as we gradually re-establish our network connectivity,” says chief commercial officer Adnan Kazim. “We continue to work closely with all stakeholders to resume flight operations while ensuring that all necessary measures to safeguard the health and safety of our customers and employees are in place.”

Passengers will be able to connect through the carrier’s Dubai hub or visit the city itself, as it has re-opened for visitors.

The airline has amended its booking policies to offer customers flexibility with their travel plans. “Customers who purchase an Emirates ticket by 31 July 2020 for travel on or before 30 November 2020, can enjoy generous rebooking terms and options, if they have to change their travel plans due to unexpected flight or travel restrictions relating to Covid-19,” it says.

Source:https://www.flightglobal.com/emirates-resumes-flights-to-six-further-destinations/139233.article

 

Low-cost carrier, Jambojet, has announced plans to resume flights to five local destinations with effect from 15th July 2020.

For a start, the airline will operate 4 weekly flights to Diani, 3 daily flights to Mombasa, 2 daily flights to Kisumu, 2 daily flights to Eldoret, and 1 daily flight to Malindi.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has exempted domestic flights from leaving the middle seat open. According to KCAA director-general, Gilbert Kibe, flying with the middle row seats empty will be unsustainable. Some airlines will be forced to increase ticket prices, creating a disadvantage to hundreds of passengers.

With international flights set to resume on 1st August 2020, Jambojet will be able to commence flights to its regional destinations of Kigali(Rwanda) and Entebbe(Uganda).

Jambojet is a Kenyan low-cost carrier that started operating in 2014. It is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, with its headquarters in Nairobi. It flies to Malindi, Ukunda, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kigali and Entebbe, Uganda. The airline plans to expand to South Sudan, Tanzania, DRC, Comoros, and Malawi.

Jambojet is also seeking approval from KCAA to expand its cargo destinations, alongside operating direct flights between cities in Kenya without stopping at its hub in Nairobi.

If approved, the carrier plans to fly directly from Mombasa to Kisumu and from Kisumu to Eldoret- Malindi-Lamu.

 

Source: https://kenyanwallstreet.com/jambojet-resumes-flight-to-local-destinations/

 

Kenya’s tourism had a solid year in 2019, with market data showing a continued maturity of the sector. For starters, international arrivals rose above the two million mark year over year.

 

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) datat indicates that tourism receipts for the year soared by 3.9 percent to Sh163.6 billion from Sh157.4 billion in 2018 to mirror the steady rise in arrivals.

 

Arrivals in 2019 remained solid at Kenya’s major points of entries, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and Moi International Airport in Mombasa.

 

The sector kept growing from strength to strength in the year, supported in large part by continued political stability, an improved security situation, and the withdrawal of travel advisories by major tourist source countries. Hotel-bed occupancy levels grew by 6.3 percent while visits to national parks and game reserves improved notably.

 

International and local conferences grew by 6.9 percent and 14.4 percent respectively. Admissions at the Kenya Utalii College, which offers professional hospitality courses, rose by 9.8 percent to 2,706.

Fast forward to 2020 and the hospitality sector was the first to take a major hit from the Covid-19 crisis, which has seen travel restrictions introduced in all parts of the world.

According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organisations (WTO), 44 destinations have restricted entries to certain tourists on the basis of country of origin.

In Kenya, the hospitality sector was the only one to register negative growth in the first three months of 2020.

From lost hotel revenues and a thinning aviation sector the magnitude of declining tourism is visible.

A Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) survey conducted between May and June, for instance, found zero forward hotel bookings. Meanwhile Kenya Airways has costs to worry about as other airlines prepare for flights within Africa and to long-haul destinations.

Economists predict the national carrier may see a Sh50 billion dip in revenues for the year, equivalent to more than one-third of the company’s 2019 gross figures from passenger and cargo before expenses. Domestic tourism has similarly taken a hit from Covid-19 mitigation measures.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel with the start of easing of restrictions last month. For instance, walk into the Nairobi National Park on any one Saturday or Sunday afternoon and spot the difference.

Hundreds of Nairobi residents are visiting the world’s only national park inside a capital city, with routine trips upcountry and to other popular destinations over the weekends restricted.

They are also taking a keen interest in nature and wildlife. As a conservationist, it is refreshing to see Kenyans spend more time enjoying and appreciating national parks and wildlife as part of their heritage.

Thre are more social media posts of Kenyans walking about the trails of the popular Karura Forest or feeding the giraffes at the Giraffe Centre.

The new interest could very well mark a turning point for the local hospitality industry.

A recent chat with a tourism stakeholder pointed me towards an ending stereotype — tourism ni ya wazungu (loosely translated as tourism is for white foreign visitors).

The new policy which placed domestic tourism at the heart of the country’s hospitality sector must now be capitalised upon.

As restrictions the world over remain in place particularly from jitters on pre-mature re-openings especially in Europe, the domestic market are set to remain as the go-to source for tourists.

International tourists will be the last ones to return under the new normal and most likely after the containment of the virus.

Currently, it is virtually impossible for one to travel into Kenya from the European Union (EU), for instance, as the customs union cuts off destinations that are yet to substantively manage the pandemic.

To keep the engine of local tourism roaring, the government must now endeavour to grow it in the near term. Already government data shows there was an annual local tourism capacity of up to 3.97 million tourists as of 2018.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala recently halved entry fees at parks and game reserves for Kenyans in an attempt to attract more local tourists. Further, the Tourism ministry has issued a one-year moratorium on rents for hotels operating inside parks and other sites.

The two initiatives will serve to boost the local hospitality capacities and sustain the tourism industry over the near term. Moreover, the recently announced Sh537 billion stimulus package contains an allocation of Sh3 billion as soft loans to tourist facilities to support renovation works.

BUILD BRIDGES

With new working protocols already drawn up and out for implementation, the government must now seek to build bridges to push domestic tourism to an even higher level. One of the means to these ends would be a promotion of local tourism to the masses.

Advertising and marketing budgets must be now temporarily re-adjusted with a bias for local tourists.

Digital marketing remains a powerful tool to attract domestic tourism. Under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, the free movement of people will stimulate intra-Africa tourism.

Statistics show that over 60 million tourists visited Africa in 2019.

The world will slowly open up to our continent, with the magnificent attractions and exceptional warm African hospitality.

Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are also looking at opening up flights and visitors into their countries in the near future. Beyond the pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism must still strive to keep the domestic market engaged to accelerate the industry into even greater heights.

Diaz is director Bidco Africa group director, EABC board member and Trustee Brand Africa. @DiazChrisAfrica

Source; https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/analysis/ideas/Homegrown-tourism-will-boost-industry-s-recovery/4259414-5590620-nq4f9nz/index.html

After four months Kenya is reopening its airspace for domestic and international travel, giving a reprieve to airlines whose financial have been on a nose dive since their aircraft were grounded in March.

The announcement on Monday came as good news to local carriers that had been pushing for reopening, if only to cut their losses which have hit tens of billions of shillings in the last few months.

However, the industry recovery is expected to be slow with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projecting that air traffic will not return to pre-Covid-19 crisis until 2023, meaning that airlines have to grapple with losses for at least two or three more years.

Locally, national carrier, Kenya Airways  (KQ) projects that it will recover from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic in about the same period.

Basing on the anticipated low numbers, KQ, which had planned to acquire new aircraft and retire some of its old fleet, said it will revisit the matter in 2023 when it expects demand to pick up.

“With the shrinkage in demand at the moment, we have excess assets and there will be no need to acquire new aircraft,” said Allan Kilavuka in a response to the Business Daily.

Safarilink chief executive Alex Avedi said in an earlier interview that to manage their operating costs, they will start flying with a reduced fleet and adjust upwards as demand for passengers rises.

“Covid-19 effects on air travel are certainly going to last a number of years with no quick rebound to ‘the 2019 levels,” IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce told Reuters recently.

Airlines normally rely on the cabin load factor to make profits and low numbers mean that it would be difficult for carriers to operate sustainably.

When he reopened the airspace on Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said carriers will be required to conform to all applicable guidelines and protocols from both the Ministry of Health, local regulators and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and any additional requirements applicable at the ports of departure, arrival or transit. The directive signals the introduction of stringent measures at airports, which may discourage travellers.

IATA has warned counties against being overzealous by requiring mandatory quarantine once the airspace is opened, saying it will hurt the confidence of passengers. It instead urges countries to follow the guidelines issued by health and aviation agencies.

“Deviations from the guidance and mandatory approaches, especially on quarantine and social distancing, will damage public confidence, make it harder to operate effectively, slow down the industry restart and increase the economic pressures already created by Covid-19,” said IATA.

“We therefore urge African states to urgently adopt these guidelines so that we can ensure the implementation of consistent, harmonised and effective measures across the region, a prerequisite for passengers to return to air travel in all confidence, and for the swift restoration of air connectivity,” it added.

Kenya become the second country in East Africa to open up its airspace after Tanzania. Rwanda announced that it will open for scheduled commercial flight operations on August 1, according to the country’s Ministry of Infrastructure with travellers, including those on transit required to show proof of Covid-19 tests.

Similarly visitors to Dubai will be required to show certificates proving they are not carriers of the disease before they can be allowed entry starting next week.

The stringent requirements are expected to be adopted by most countries as they open up their airspace for passenger aircraft in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile as passenger business prepares to resume, last month Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) released data showing that cargo airlines, not affected by Covid-19 helped to improve aircraft movement at the JKIA with data from indicating that cargo has only been down by 18 percent between March and May this year.

“Cargo business was not hit much because of the ongoing operations at the airport as the government did not restrict the freighters from operating,” said KAA acting managing director Alex Gitari.

The industry figure shows that on yearly comparison, cargo handled in 2019 was 90,000 tonnes compared with 74,000 tonnes that was evacuated through JKIA between January and May.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/Why-customer-confidence-will-be-key-to-keeping-airlines-in-sky/4003122-5589516-vw30jqz/index.html

 

Low-cost carrier Jambojet will resume flights to five local destinations on July 15, 2020 after the government lifted a ban on movement in and out of Nairobi, Mombasa, and Mandera counties.

The airline, which is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, will operate three daily flights to Mombasa, two to Kisumu, two to Eldoret, one to Malindi and four weekly flights to Diani. 

This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta moved to reopen the economy by lifting a ban on road, air and rail travel across the country that was in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. 

However, since the dusk-to-dawn curfew is still in place, it’s not clear what that would mean for the aviation industry since many airlines operate flights at night.

Meanwhile, Kenya Railways has also asked passengers to be patient as it prepares a new operational schedule for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

Source: https://www.nation.co.ke/kenya/business/jambojet-revs-engines-as-it-readies-for-local-flights-1446114

International flights out of Kenya are set to resume from August 1^st while domestic flights are set to resume from July 15^th. This was confirmed by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the ninth Presidential address on the Covid-19 pandemic on 6^th July.

The opening up of the airspace is conditioned with strict conformity with guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health.

The resumption of domestic and international flights come as a sigh of relief for the Travel and Tourism Sector. Employers in the sector were rendered jobless, sent on unpaid leave or suffered pay cuts.

Travel Agents had closed shop as the Covid-19 unprecedented situated grounded the agency business to a halt.

 

All passengers flying with Qatar Airways in economy class will be required to wear face shields as part of health and safety measures announced by the carrier today in response to the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those shields are in addition to face masks or coverings, and will be provided by the airline.

Economy-class passengers must wear shields and masks throughout the flight, the Middle Eastern carrier states, except during drink and meal services.

Business-class passengers “are asked to wear their face shield and mask on board at their own discretion, as they enjoy more space and privacy”, the airline says.

All passengers will receive a complimentary “protective kit”, which will include a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable gloves and an alcohol-based hand-sanitiser gel.

The face shields will be distributed at check-in for Doha-origin flights, and at the gate for overseas-origin departures.

Qatar Airways has also confirmed that cabin crew will wear a “new protective gown” in addition to safety glasses, gloves and masks.

By mandating face shields, the airline’s measures go beyond those adopted by most other carriers, which tend to focus on face coverings only.

“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the safety of our passengers has been our highest priority,” states Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker. “As the largest international airline flying consistently throughout the pandemic, we have become one of the most experienced in safety and hygiene. We will continue to lead the industry in terms of the services offered to our passengers, so that they can travel with confidence.”

Speaking to FlightGlobal in June, Al Baker said he expects the global hunger for travel that is important to Qatar Airways’ business model will return, powered by a scientific breakthrough.

“The entire scientific community is working to defeat this pandemic and I’m sure there will be a breakthrough that will make people have confidence to travel again,” he said.

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/qatar-airways-mandates-face-shields-for-economy-passengers/139121.article

 

The rapid spread of coronavirus has had a massive impact on many sectors of the global economy, with tourism being among the hardest hit. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) are joining forces to boost the recovery of the tourism sector across the 38 economies where the Bank invests.

According to analysis by UNWTO, all worldwide destinations introduced restrictions on travel in response to Covid-19 an unprecedented act. While some destinations are starting to ease restrictions, the crisis is far from over and this lockdown has led to a massive fall in international tourist arrivals.

In light of such unprecedented events, the EBRD and UNWTO have agreed to take immediate action to facilitate the recovery of tourism. The support is currently envisaged for a number of countries, including Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The immediate response was designed along the three pillars of the UNWTO’s Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package. It includes measurement of the impact of Covid-19, recovery plans with incentives to revive the tourism sector, protocols to ensure the enhanced safety, hygiene and security of tourists and employees, marketing of measures that can boost tourism demand, capacity-building for tourism officials and training for tourism sector enterprises in adopting the new protocols. A key element is to preserve human capital as well as to adapt and strengthen inclusion.

The two organisations are longstanding partners and signed a first Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in 2015, which they renewed in 2019.

This cooperation expands the existing partnership and builds on the UNWTO’s recently adopted Covid-19 Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, which includes three pillars through which the organisation plans to assist the sector: 1) economic recovery, 2) marketing and promotion and 3) institutional strengthening and the building of resilience.

The EBRD is committing all of its activity in 2020-21 to helping its regions counter the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with investment expected to reach up to €21 billion. The Bank will target all sectors of the economy, including tourism and hospitality which were particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Kenya has been awarded the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travel Stamp in recognition of the destination’s adoption of the global health and hygiene standardized protocols dubbed ‘Safe Travels’.

The announcement was made by Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala during the unveiling of the Magical Kenya travel and tourism health and safety guidelines and protocols.

He said the recognition is timely as Kenya prepares to reopen the tourism and hospitality industry after months of closure.

To meet this recognition, Kenya sent the protocols drafted by National Tourism and Hospitality Protocols Taskforce to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for validation. This is in line with the Global reopening of Tourism and Travel Protocols.

“I am delighted to announce that Kenya has been listed among the 80 global destinations certified and authorized to use the “World Travel and Tourism Council Safe Travel Stamp” together with our Magical Kenya Logo. This stamp will allow travelers to recognize Kenya as a safe destination once we reopen and implement the health and safety protocols” said CS Balala

The tourism and travel sector is undoubtedly one of the worst hit globally following the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Arising from the pandemic the tourism and wildlife sectors are experiencing unprecedented health and social economic crisis.

Locally, the crisis has crippled the industry due to the movement restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of the virus.

“The Protocols we have launched today will provide guidance for the tourism sector’s reopening as we look to actualize the tourism recovery initiatives that have been facilitated by the government going forward.  I appreciate the National Tourism and Hospitality Protocols Taskforce for developing this document that will form a basis for proper reopening of the sector” added Balala

The protocols will seek to achieve Institutional, Operational and Staff Preparedness to ensure service provision meets required guidelines aimed at preventing spread of COVID-19.

They will also Ensure a safe experience for visitors, rebuild trust and confidence, and Implement enabling policies and guidelines thus provide a step by step process of a careful reopening and restart of business in the tourism sector.

Source: https://www.kbc.co.ke/kenya-receives-world-travel-and-tourism-council-safe-travel-stamp/

President Uhuru says Kenya Airways (KQ) will resume operations in a few days. Uhuru, who spoke on Friday during a virtual conference sponsored by US-based Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), noted that the government will first allow the national airline to resume domestic flights.

The government will later set a date for KQ to resume international flights based on the global Covid-19 situation, Uhuru added.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure we are back in the skies… we’re eager to open up, but we have to make sure we all stay safe,” he told the summit.

KQ has been grounded for the past three months following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has entirely disrupted the global aviation industry.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka this week disclosed the airline has lost an estimated Sh10 billion due to the Covid-19 crisis. Kilavuka said the losses could soar to Sh50 billion by the end of this year.

The carrier did not suspend cargo operations but this has not been enough to sustain the business.

Source: http://www.mwakilishi.com/article/business-news/2020-06-27/uhuru-gives-kenya-airways-green-light-to-resume-flights