The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) on Monday suspended passenger flights from Kenya effective January 22, 2024.
In a statement from Director General Hamza Johari, TCAA announced that the flights had been halted under the Third and Fourth Freedom Traffic Rights. The flights are between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
The authority further noted that the decision was in response to Kenya’s aeronautical authorities' refusal of Tanzania’s cargo flight operations in the country.
"This is to reciprocate the decision by the aeronautical authorities of the Republic of Kenya to refuse the Tanzanian request for all-cargo flight operations by Air Tanzania Company Limited under Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights between Nairobi and Third countries,” TCAA added.
TCAA further noted that the Kenya Aviation Authority (KAA) had defied a previous Memorandum of Understanding, that the two East African countries had signed on Air Services.
The MoU was signed on November 24, 2016, in Nairobi. Tanzania noted that it shall strive to adhere to the principles of the Chicago Convention 1944 and bilateral air services agreement between countries.
Before the suspension, there were about 33 flights per week between Nairobi and Dar e Salaam.
Tanzania had in 2020 banned Kenyan passenger flights in retaliation after Kenya excluded the country from countries allowed to fly in.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga in December 2023 noted the diplomatic tiff between Kenya and Tanzania, attributing it to the current regime's poor leadership.
"At the centre of the continuing damage of our relationship in EAC is the unbridled greed and corruption as practiced by the Ruto government and the arrogance and foul mouth that has come with it," Raila alleged.
