Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has revealed that he reached out to his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba to help save national carrier Kenya Airways.
Mudavadi’s move followed a decision by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) to stop Kenya Airways (KQ) from operating passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
According to the CS, he and Makamba came to a decision to allow relevant authorities to further discuss the matter and find an amicable solution within three days.
“With regard to the decision of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority to rescind the approvals for Kenya Airways to operate passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam with effect from 22nd January 2024.
“We have jointly agreed that our respective Civil Aviation Authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” stated Mudavadi.
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Tanzania Responds to the Ban After Mudavadi Call
On the other hand, Makamba noted that restrictions of air travel between the two nations should not stand noting that the matter would be resolved.
“I spoke to my Kenyan colleague Musalia Mudavadi. We agreee that restrictions of air travel between our countries and from any of our country to a third country shouldn’t stand.
“With relevant authorities, we have resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements, within three days,” he noted.
Also, the move was welcomed by the Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs Koriri Sing’Oei, who lauded the CS for his diplomatic approach to the matter.
According to him, payback was not the best way to handle neighborhood challenges.
“We must favor an approach that seeks to understand any basis for disagreement with a view to reaching mutually beneficial objectives,” he added.
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At the same time, the Kenya Airways assured its customers that they would make sure there was no flight disruptions to Dar es Salaam despite the public notice stopping their operations in the country.
“Kenya Airways is engaging Civil Aviation Authorities and relevant government agencies in kenya and Tanzania to find a solution that will ensure that there are no flight disruptions between Nairobi and dar es Salaam,” KQ statement read in part.
Tanzania Bans Kenya Airways Flights
In the notice, TCAA indicated that that the decision to bar KQ flights was to reciprocate the move by authorities in Kenya denying Air Tanzania permission to operate cargo flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
According to the Tanzanian authority, the decision by Kenya was contrary to Section 4 of the Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services, between Tanzania and Kenya signed on November 24, 2016, in Nairobi, Kenya.
“Following this Decision, there shall be no passenger flights by KQ between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam from 22 January 2024,” the statement read in part.
“The United Republic of Tanzania shall always strive to adhere to the principles of Chicago Convention 1944 and Bilateral Air Services Agreement between States,” the statement read in part.
