A Kenya Airways plane.
Zambia has lifted the suspension of Kenya Airways flights after Nairobi granted landing rights to Lusaka's national carrier Zambia Airways.
Kenya Airways flights to Zambia, which had been suspended with effect from Tuesday October 8, 2024, will now be allowed after the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said it had resolved the matter with their counterparts in Lusaka.
Zambia Civil Aviation Authority, in a letter dated October 2, 2024, had suspended Kenya Airways flights to Lusaka after Kenya Civil Aviation Authority declined to allow Zambia Airways flights into the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The Zambian Civil Aviation Authority claims that KCAA granted Zambia Airways (2014) Limited a Foreign Operators Permit to operate JKIA flights.
While the KCAA initially granted Zambia Airways a Foreign Operators Permit, authorisation to operate flights into Nairobi using a wet-leased Boeing 737-700 was declined.
However, in an interview with the Nation, the KCAA Director General Emile Arao, said the matter has since been resolved.
“There is no suspension and you will see a statement from the Zambians. The matter has been resolved. Nothing (flights) has been stopped,” said Arao.
Efforts by the Zambian government to resolve the issue diplomatically had also failed.
“The Zambian CAA made an appeal to KCAA to reconsider their position and grant Zambia Airways (2014) Limited the required authorization to fly to Nairobi using the wet leased B737-700 aircraft. The KCAA has maintained the same position of not granting authorization to Zambia Airways (2014) Limited,” said Captain Derrick Luembe, Director General, Zambia Civil Aviation Authority.
“Considering the lack of response and reciprocity on the matter of Zambia Airways (2014) Limited flights into Nairobi-Kenya, I regret to inform you that all Kenya Airways flights into Zambia are hereby suspended with effect from 8th October, 2024.”
Captain Luembe claims that efforts to seek an audience with Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, KCAA Director General Emile Arao and a meeting though Kenya’s High Commissioner to Zambia did not bear fruit by end of Wednesday last week.
“Further, our ministry of Transport and Logistics wrote another letter dated 26 July, 2024, to the Kenyan Minister of Transport to seek his intervention in this matter. To date, there has been no response from the Hon, Minister of Transport in Kenya,” said Luembe
In an effort to make this matter, Luembe said that Zambia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics through Foreign Affairs on 12th September, 2024 held a meeting with the Kenya Acting High Commissioner to Zambia, to discuss the matter in detail.
“Our ministry was requested to submit all relevant documentation related to this matter for the Acting High Commissioner to intervene. All relevant documents were submitted, and the acting High Commissioner promised that feedback would be given by the end of the following week. Unfortunately to date, there has been no response to this matter and it still remains unresolved,” said Captain Luembe.
“On October , 2024, I reached out to KCAA to discuss this matter via email and WhatsApp and unfortunately there has been no response from KCAA.”
There are eight direct flights between Nairobi and Lusaka every week.
