Kenya Lifts Ban on Dubai Flights

A plane in a runway at an airport
A plane in a runway at an airport
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The government of Kenya has lifted the ban on all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates. 

This was confirmed in a report by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) which revealed that the ban expired on Monday, January 24.

The directive comes after a two-week ban issued by Kenya as a way of reciprocating the ban on passenger flights to the UAE.

Planes landing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)
Planes landing at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)
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KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe then announced the ban- which took effect on Monday midnight, January 10. 

"Inbound and transit passenger flights from UAE are suspended for a period of seven days. We are doing this to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to UAE," he stated.

After the seven days expired, the KCAA boss announced another 7-day extension until Monday, January 24.

The ban, however, did not affect cargo flights which continued with normal operations.

Initially, Fly Emirates had issued a statement in December 2021, revealing that all flights from Kenya to Dubai had been banned due to alleged Covid-19 vaccination certificates.

"Customers will not be accepted for travel on Emirates flights at Nairobi during this time," read an excerpt from the Fly Emirates.

This comes as the Ministry of Health (MOH) has continued to urge all Kenyans to get vaccinated in order to contain the spread of the virus and shield its population.

Currently, the positivity rate stands at 4.7 percent with 320,399 cases recorded. The fatalities are at 5,558 with the vaccination drive tallying to 11,553,637.

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Health CS Mutahi Kagwe address the press in May 2021
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