Kenya in Talks with Tanzania to Resolve Travel Restrictions
January 16, 2024 Hour: 4:32 pm
On Tuesday, Kenya confirmed that discussions are underway with Tanzania to resolve recently imposed restrictions on air travel between the two countries.
Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s First Cabinet Secretary, who is also Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, said Monday night that he had spoken with January Makamba, Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and agreed to resolve the air restrictions.
“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,” Mudavadi said on his social media handle on X, formerly Twitter.
His remarks came a few hours after the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) announced that it has suspended all Kenya Airways passenger flights between the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and Tanzania’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam, effective Jan. 22.
The issue of reciprocal restrictions of air transport between Tanzania and Kenya and from Tanzania/Kenya to third countries has been amicably resolved this afternoon. I thank H.E @MusaliaMudavadi and ministers of transport in ���� & ���� for joint effort to resolve this #SisiNiNdugu
— January Makamba (@JMakamba)
January 16, 2024
Tanzania cited a reciprocity dispute after Kenya refused a request for all-cargo flight operations by Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) to operate cargo flights between Nairobi and third countries.
According to the statement signed by TCAA Director General Hamza Johari, TCAA cited the Kenyan authorities’ refusal as a violation of Section 4 of the memorandum of understanding on Air Services signed between the two countries in 2016.
The move was expected to have a substantial impact on Kenya Airways, which operates 33 flights per week to and from Tanzania.
“Kenya Airways is engaging the civil aviation authorities and relevant government agencies in Kenya and Tanzania to find a solution that will ensure there are no flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam,” the national carrier of Kenya said in a statement issued Monday night.
January Makamba, the Tanzanian foreign minister, also confirmed that he spoke with his Kenyan counterpart on the phone and agreed to resolve the matter using the relevant authorities.
“We agreed that restrictions on air travel between our countries and from either of our countries to a third country should not stand. With the relevant authorities, we have resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements, within three days,” Makamba said on X.
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Autor: teleSUR/ OSG
Fuente: Al Jazeera