Tanzania has banned Kenya’s national carrier from flying into the country, the latest move in a deepening row between the two neighbouring countries. The Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) said Kenya Airways flights were being banned “on a reciprocal basis” after the Kenyan government decided against including Tanzania in a list of countries whose passengers would be allowed to enter Kenya when commercial flights resumed on Saturday following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. “Tanzania has noted … its exclusion in the list of countries whose people will be allowed to travel into Kenya… The Tanzanian government has decided to nullify its approval for Kenya Airways (KQ) flights between Nairobi and Dar/Kilimanjaro/Zanzibar effective August 1, 2020 until further notice,” TCCA Director General Hamza Johari said in a letter sent to Kenya Airways on Friday. Kenya Airways chief executive Allan Kilavuka said on Saturday he was “saddened” by the letter and hoped the situation would soon be resolved. The spat between Kenya and Tanzania erupted soon after the outbreak of the pandemic in East Africa, when Kenya blocked Tanzanian truck drivers from entering the country, fearing they would spread the disease.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
