Kenya has lifted its 7 day suspension on all Dubai bound passenger flights effective midnight after a 2 week ban with the UAE over COVID-19 certificates. The ban however did not affect cargo flights which continued with normal operations.
Last week, Kenya and Dubai had failed to reach a consensus again over the ban. Kenya insisted that Dubai must first lift its ban on flights from Kenya, after which Nairobi will follow suit. “Inbound and transit passenger flights from UAE are suspended for a period of seven days. We are doing this to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to UAE,” Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.
Foreign Affairs CS Rachel Omamo told journalists the talks were between her Ministry, the Ministry of Health and the officials from the Arab statelet. “We are still active on the matter, we want them to open their flight paths and then we will reciprocate,” she said on Friday in Nairobi.
In December 2021, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) banned all flights from Kenya. The DCAA claimed several passengers arriving from Nairobi tested positive for COVID-19, yet they had negative certificates on their departure from Kenya. The DCAA later stated that customers will not be accepted for travel on Emirates flights in Nairobi during the time. The DCAA however did not give a clear reason for the suspension of the flights, however, there have been concerns raised over travellers issuing fake COVID-19 certificates.