British Airways resumes Nairobi-London flights

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 7 – British Airways has resumed flights from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to London after a five-month break occasioned by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first flight departing from the JKIA landed in London on Monday.

In a statement, Sohail Ali, British Airways’ Senior Vice President, Middle East, and Africa assured that the airline had put in place adequate  Covid-19 measures to provide ‘stress and hassle-free travel for its passengers.’

“We can’t wait to welcome our customers back on board our flights and we are honored to be playing our part in reuniting families and friends with their loved ones after such a long time apart,” he said,

Among the measures imposed by the airline include social distancing and wearing of face masks.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues has always been at the heart of everything we do. We know some customers won’t have flown for a long time, we can assure them we have a range of Covid-19 measures in place to provide stress and hassle-free travel,” the statement read in part.

The resumption of flights comes two months after Kenya lifted a ban on passenger flights between Nairobi and London which was imposed as a retaliation for the placement of Kenya on the red list.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its compliments to the British High Commission and has the honour to convey the decision of the government of Kenya to lift all flights restrictions between Kenya and the United Kingdom effective immediately,” MFA said in a  statement.

On April 4, the British government banned international arrivals from Kenya alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Kenya had banned flights from the UK, from April 9 in retaliation to a move by the UK.