The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has announced the impending suspension of flights by national carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) to the country from January 22, 2024 has been rescinded.
This follows the granting of fifth air rights to Air Tanzania by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA). Fifth Air Rights grants an airline the opportunity to operate flights from a foreign country to a third country without travelling to the home country.
Kenya Airways on the other hand does not enjoy the same rights. It only enjoys third and fourth air rights in Tanzania. The third freedom is the right to carry passengers or cargo from one’s own country to another. The right to carry passengers or cargo from another country to one’s own is the fourth freedom.
The move to ban flights by Kenya Airways was what motivated Kenya to reverse its decision because it would have negatively impacted the national carrier. The Kenyan airline operates 33 weekly scheduled flights between the two destinations.
Kenya Airways’ subsidiary Jambojet is set to begin operations to Tanzania later this year. The budget airline is set to launch new route between Mombasa and Zanzibar from July 1, 2024.