The Government has announced that international flights will resume starting August 1 with China and Zimbabwe among countries allowed air travel to Kenya.
According to Transport CS James Macharia, agreed protocol dictates that passengers who will arrive with a PCR-based COVID-19 negative certificate and body temperature not exceeding 37.5°C will be exempt from quarantine.
“They should not have a persistent cough, difficulty in breathing or other flu-like symptoms and must have been tested 96 hours before travel,” the CS said.
He however noted that this is not a blanket approval and there is an initial list of countries from which passengers will be allowed entry into Kenya.
The Transport CS said the list will be reviewed on an ongoing basis because the COVID-19 situation is not static.
Aside from China and Zimbabwe, other countries allowed to operate flights to Kenya are South Korea, Japan, Canada, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, and Morocco.
“These countries have mild or limited community transmission or declining incidences,” CS Macharia said.
He further noted that passengers traveling out of Kenya will be required to abide by the particular travel, health and COVID-19-related requirements of the destination country.
The CS urged airlines to ensure that passengers comply with the requirements before boarding.
In addition, passengers arriving to Kenya after curfew has begun, that is 9pm, will be required to have a valid air ticket to be allowed to proceed to their hotels or residences.
The government will also require that drivers of passengers for international flights to have evidence that they came from the airport.
Passengers departing on flights after curfew will have to ensure they have a valid air ticket and boarding pass to be allowed to proceed to their destination or departure airport.
Airline operators will also be required to provide guidance material to passengers regarding application of the preventive measures on board their aircrafts.
“We know that initially the number of people traveling will be quite low so we shall be reviewing in the first week to see how many flights are getting to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu or Eldoret and then we shall take the appropriate measures for social distancing,” CS Macharia said.
