Tit for Tat: Kenya Airways flights are halted in Tanzania as retaliation

Dar Essalam:Tanzania’s civil aviation authority(TCAA) announced on Monday that the country has revoked Kenya Airways’ (KQNA.NR) permission to fly between Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, the commercial hub of Tanzania.

According to TCAA the move was made in retaliation for Kenya denying its national airline, Air Tanzania, the ability to run cargo flights between the two nations.Find here with the statement posted on TCAA’s X account :

“Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, on behalf of the aeronautical authorities of the United Republic of Tanzania, has decided to rescind the approvals for Kenya Airways (KQ) to operate passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam under Third and Forth Freedom Traffic Rights with effect from 22 January 2024.

This is to reciprocate the decision by the aeronautical authorities of the Republic of Kenya to refuse the Tanzanian request for all-cargo flight operations by Air Tanzania Company Limited under Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights between Nairobi and Third countries, contrary to Section 4 of the Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services, between Tanzania and Kenya signed on 24 November 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Following this Decision, there shall be no passenger flights by KQ between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam from 22 January 2024.

The United Republic of Tanzania shall always strive to adhere to the principles of Chicago Convention 1944 and Bilateral Air Services Agreement between States”

The foreign ministers of Tanzania and Kenya, however, stated in separate statements that were posted on the X platform late on Monday that their nations would cooperate to find a three-day solution to the problem.

“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,” Kenya’s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi said