Air travel between Kenya and the Middle Eastern countries rebounded in the third quarter amid the ongoing conflict, highlighting the resilience of passenger demand on the air routes between Kenya and the Gulf.
Departures from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai and Doha rose significantly in July and August, hitting record levels and surpassing last year’s numbers.
Travelers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
In the first two months of the third quarter, departures from JKIA to Middle Eastern destinations rose by 16 per cent to 151,295 from 130,156 last year, according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
At the same time, travellers arriving from the Middle Eastern countries rose by 3.8 per cent to 139,175 from last year’s 134,033, months after the region’s airspace was completely shut due to the Iran war.
This trend defies the global slump in travel to and from the Middle East, as many tourists and transiting passengers reroute amid fears of attacks on airports and other transport infrastructure in the region.
Experts argue that this is because for Kenyans travelling to the Middle East, disruption doesn’t necessarily mean cancellation of the travel, but just postponement, and demand rises often after services resume.
“Every time there is disruption, especially on Middle Eastern routes, there is a build-up for people who want to travel there, and that’s why we may be seeing that surge,” argued Nicanor Sabula, CEO of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents.
“Additionally, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been aggressively promoting their tourism with the intent to rebuild it, and they have also eased visa restrictions.”
Nicanor Sabula, CEO of the Kenya Association of Travel Agents.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to the International Air Travel Association (IATA), global passenger demand for Middle Eastern carriers including Emirates, Qatar and Etihad among others fell by 14.6 per cent in August compared to the same period last year.
In the first half of this year, the Dubai Airport – the region’s busiest - handled 31.5 million passengers, a 31.3 per cent drop compared to last year’s 46 million, highlighting the significant impact of the Iran war on the traffic to the region.
But for Kenya, departures to Dubai rebounded strongly in July and August, displacing London as the leading destination for travellers departing from JKIA, with 35,994 passengers travelling to Dubai from Nairobi in August, compared to 28,598 travelling to London.
The lucrativeness of the route is evident on airlines servicing it. They have been scrambling to increase frequencies and capacity this year, highlighting growing demand despite the ongoing conflict.
In June, Emirates introduced its third daily flight between Nairobi and Dubai, and it plans to introduce an Airbus A350 on two of the three daily flights, increasing capacity to meet the growing demand.
Kenya Airways also increased its daily flights to Dubai to two from September, while flydubai, an Emirates’ subsidiary, started daily flights between Nairobi and Dubai in October last year, highlighting the surging demand.
Travel to the Emirati city from Nairobi collapsed in March following US and Israel’s joint offensive against Iran, which Tehran retaliated by attacking its neighbours, including airports and hotels.
In March, total air travel to the Middle East slumped to 20,599, the lowest monthly traffic in over five years, but began to rebound immediately in April, even as travelers from other parts of the globe continued to keep off.
According to Mr Sabula, the number of people travelling from Kenya in search of jobs in the Middle East has also risen significantly since the war broke, also driving up the demand.
