US Omitted from List of Countries Cleared for Flights to and out of Kenya

The US has been omitted from the initial list of 11 countries that have been cleared for international flights to and from Kenya.

On Thursday, Transport CS James Macharia said the 11 countries were cleared based on their current Covid-19 status.

He indicated that these countries have mild or limited community transmission or declining incidences of Covid-19 infections.

Travelers arriving in Kenya from the 11 nations will be exempted from quarantine as long as they have a PCR-based Covid-19 negative certificate and body temperature not exceeding 37.5°C.

“They should not have a persistent cough, difficulty in breathing or other flu-like symptoms and must have been tested 96 hours before travel,” Macharia said.

The US is the most affected country by the Covid-19 pandemic with over 4.6 million cases and more than 155,000 deaths as of Friday. 

CS Macharia said the list of cleared countries will be updated frequently since the Covid-19 situation is not static.

Last week, Kenya Airways (KQ) announced it will not operate direct flights to the US when it resumes international flights on August 1st.

The airline launched nonstop flights to JFK International Airport in New York in October 2018, reducing travel time on the route to 15 hours.

KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka said the carrier has reduced its routes by half to 27 and cut the frequency of flights to some destinations as demand is expected to remain low for at least 18 months.