KENYA:- Kenya Airways Resumes New York – Nairobi Direct Flights
”New York, here we come! Captains Irene Koki Mutungi and Victor Ngunjiri with Cabin Manager Jason Mose aboard KQ002 as we resume our nonstop NBO – NYC flights tonight.
for surprising our guests with gifts to remind them of our magical country. #KQClearForTakeOff”
Kenya Airways was cleared to resume Kenya United States direct flight as of 30th November.
KQ said it will initially operate two weekly flights (Wednesday and Sunday) on the Nairobi-New York route before increasing the frequency to three times a week (Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday).
“We look forward to hosting you onboard our flights to your favorite destinations when you are ready to travel,” KQ said in a statement.
The direct flights to the US were inaugurated in October 2018, cutting the journey to 15 hours.
As of October last year, KQ had completed 594 flights to and from New York, flying at least 105,084 passengers.
Data released by the Tourism Ministry in August 2020, showed that out of the 14,049 international arrivals in Kenya since the resumption of international flights on August 1st, the US had the highest number with 2,768.
The number of visitors arriving from the US is expected to spike once Kenya Airways resumes direct flights to New York in October.
The country has a strict protocol for air travel operations to help contain the spread of the virus and ensure that the sector is opened up taking cognizance of the measures put in place by the Ministry of Health.
The national carrier has extended discounts for passengers booking their flights before December 10.
“Welcome back to the Big Apple! Today we resume our service between Nairobi and New York, and we can’t wait to welcome you on board,” Kenya Airways tweeted.
“The fundamental importance of offering passengers optimal connectivity and reliability despite the pandemic, and more so during this holiday season cannot be gainsaid. We are excited to offer more travel options with global connections, bridging long distances, and physically bringing families and friends together. We are also proud to enable travel for business and leisure, which have a direct impact on economic growth and job creation for Kenya,” added Mr. Kilavuka.
“All the aircraft are also fitted with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, which ensures the quality of air onboard is maintained, using a constant filtration and replacement system.”
Kenya Airways suspended passenger flights to John F Kennedy Airport in New York City on March 27, 2020, with the exemption of cargo and special repatriation flights, due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
It was set to resume operations in October but put aside the plan over increased cancellation of flight bookings.
