Kenya Airways to Resume Direct Flights to U.S in December

Kenya Airways (KQ) will resume direct flights to the United States this December, owing to the festive season that is likely to see an uptick in flight demand.

The flight frequency would be increased from the current three per week that has existed since February this year when the demand for air tickets to the world’s richest economy shrank.

Kenya Airways (KQ) said its decision is supported by a huge number of tourists who will be streaming into the country, including other African citizens who would use the airline to tour the US for the festivities.

“In the case of JFK (New York’s main airport), we will increase frequencies daily during the festive season in December,” said the airline.

The decision to increase the flights is usually hinged on demand, with the airline clarifying that such a move is not tied to the US only.

“We continuously monitor demand trends which guide our decision to increase or decrease frequencies on this or any other destination.”

The airline started direct flights to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, the world’s largest airport in October 2018 to the benefit of the African continent, connecting travellers who wish to transit through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

Even though it had forecast for a double-digit revenue uptick, the coronavirus advent created yet another dent in its finances and has since been struggling to remain afloat, thanks to a number of government bailouts.

According to the tourism report, the US remains the largest revenue contributor for the overseas countries into Kenya, accounting for 136,981.

It is followed by Uganda (80,067), Tanzania (74,051), the UK (53,264), and India (42,159).

In 2021, tourist arrivals stood at 870,465, compared to 567,848 in 2020 according to data released today by the Tourism Research Institute.

Kenya’s tourism revenue in the year 2021 went up 34.76 percent to Ksh.146 billion compared to Ksh.88 billion that was netted in the same period in the year 2020.

“The 34.76 percent increase translated to Ksh.146 billion in revenue, as compared to Ksh.88 billion in 2020, indicating that we are on an upward trajectory. The numbers are still low, but we are optimistic that we will eventually go back to our all-time high international visitor arrivals that is 2019 or even surpass it. This is because the majority of our masses are vaccinated and international visitors will have faith in our destination again,” said Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.