Tanzania has decided to prohibit any Kenya Airways flights originating from Nairobi from landing in Dar es Salaam starting next Monday. This decision, impacting the three daily scheduled services on this route, is framed as a retaliatory measure against Kenya’s refusal to allow all-cargo flights operated by Air Tanzania to land in Nairobi, as indicated by a statement from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA).
The TCAA emphasised that Kenya’s stance contradicted a bilateral agreement established in 2016 between the two nations.
Hamza Johari, the Director-General of the TCCA, expressed frustration, stating, “We have written to Kenyan authorities’ but they do not respond. We tried other means of arbitration without success. We had no barriers for their flight to Tanzania; why are they not giving us access to operate in their country? We have calculated over $330,000 (£260,000) loss for every single cargo flight from Nairobi to other countries.”
While alternative airlines serve the Nairobi-Dar es Salaam route, this reciprocal action threatens to escalate costs and potentially disrupt the travel plans of numerous tourists and business travellers who have come to rely on Kenya Airways, reports Tanzania’s Citizen newspaper.
In response to the TCAA’s statement, Kenya Airways assured that it is actively “engaging the Civil Aviation Authorities and relevant government agencies in Kenya and Tanzania to find a solution that will ensure there are no flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam”.
This episode echoes a previous aviation dispute between the two countries in 2020, when Tanzania briefly halted Kenya Airways flights due to disagreements over quarantine restrictions for Tanzanians.