Kenya Airways Flight to Repatriate Kenyans Stranded in India

The government has organized a special flight to repatriate Kenyans stuck in India due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Kenya Airways plane is scheduled to leave Mumbai at 4:45 pm East African time on August 19th and land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Nairobi at 8:45 pm.

Kenya’s High Commissioner to India Willy Bett in a communiqué asked Kenyans wishing to travel home to book tickets on Kenya Airways’ website.

“The Kenya High Commission (KHC) in New Delhi wishes to inform all Kenyans and other interested parties in India that Kenya Airways plans to operate a special flight to assist stranded passengers in India to travel to Kenya,” reads an excerpt of the statement.

A business class ticket on the repatriation flight is selling for $950 (Sh102,000) while those flying economy will pay $675 (Sh73,000).

“This is therefore to notify all persons interested in traveling on the planned flight to book and pay for the flight directly when Kenya Airways opens the booking link,” Bett added.

Travelers have been asked to obtain a Covid-19 negative certificate 96 hours before the flight’s departure.

The Kenyan High Commission in New Delhi earlier this week rejected a request by Oman Air to ferry home Kenyans stranded in India.

The airline wanted the mission to lobby the Indian government to allow it to fly into the country to pick stranded Kenyans and airlift them to Nairobi. This was after India extended the ban on international travel to August 31st over the Covid-19 threat.

The mission said it does not engage with airline agents in dealing with repatriation flights, adding that clearance of special flights is done between government to government.