Dutch charter airline resumes flights to East Africa

Dutch charter airline Tui has resumed operations in the East African region with a maiden flight to Zanzibar.

A Tui Boeing Dreamliner touched down at Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa, Kenya, on Tuesday morning for the first time in six years, when the carrier suspended services following an upsurge of insecurity, exacerbated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

On its first flight, the airline said 40 percent of the tourists on board were travelling to various sites in Kenya, with the rest heading to its next stop in Zanzibar.

Kenya and Tanzania, usually rivals in tourism, have been trying to attract visitors from new markets. Unlike Kenya, Tanzania did not close its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was also hit after airlines cut routes as passenger numbers fell.

Tui, whose parent firm is the world’s largest tour operator, stopped chartering tourists to Kenya after the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned against non-essential travel to Mombasa, Garissa and Eastleigh in Nairobi due to security concerns. It later extended the suspension following the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Tourism recovery

Kenya and Tanzania have adopted different recovery models. Tourism investors say Kenya could lose out to Tanzania because of policy changes, including increased park entry fees and the slow opening of the skies to more airlines.

Osman Mohammed, the Mombasa County tourism executive, said the open skies policy was starting to bear fruit and the resumption of Tui was an indicator of better tidings.

“We have been struggling to recover to pre-Covid numbers, but there is hope with the resumption of different direct flights to Mombasa.

“Last year, Mombasa only got 10 percent of the two million international visitors who toured Kenya and we hope to double the number in the next one year,” he said while receiving the airline at the Moi International Airport.

Kenya Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano last week launched holiday campaigns to attract more tourists TO the Coast region, saying the security situation provides a clam environment for tourists.

“We shall meet different tourism investors in trying to address different challenges they are facing,” said Ms Miano.

Tui, which owns a number of hotels and lodges in East Africa, has been operating in the region using third party airlines, mainly KLM and British Airways, during the period of suspension. It will now fly twice a week to Mombasa and Zanzibar.

Tui Captain Robert Gijsbertse said Tanzania and Kenya are unique destinations that offer customers the chance to visit to real natural environments.