US, Italy among 8 nations added to list of countries allowed to fly into Kenya when International flights resume.

Kenya has now added 8 more countries to its list of countries whose passengers will be allowed into the country when international flights resume on August 1.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Transport CS James Macharia, Flights from the United States of America (except for California, Florida and Texas) United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Qatar, Germany, United Arab Emirates and Italy will now be allowed into the country.

Apart from China and Zimbabwe, other countries allowed to operate flights to Kenya are South Korea, Japan, Canada, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, and Morocco.

CS James Macharia has stated that the agreed protocol dictates that passengers who will arrive in the country with a PCR-based COVID-19 negative certificate and body temperature not exceeding 37.5°C will be exempt from quarantine.

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

He however noted that this is not a blanket approval and there is an initial list of countries from which passengers will be allowed entry into Kenya.

The Transport CS said the list will be reviewed on an ongoing basis because the COVID-19 situation is not static.
He further noted that passengers traveling out of Kenya will be required to abide by the particular travel, health and COVID-19-related requirements of the destination country.

The CS urged airlines to ensure that passengers comply with the requirements before boarding.

In addition, passengers arriving to Kenya after curfew has begun, that is 9pm, will be required to have a valid air ticket to be allowed to proceed to their hotels or residences.

The government will also require that drivers of passengers for international flights to have evidence that they came from the airport.

Passengers departing on flights after curfew will have to ensure they have a valid air ticket and boarding pass to be allowed to proceed to their destination or departure airport.

Airline operators will also be required to provide guidance material to passengers regarding application of the preventive measures on board their aircrafts.

“We know that initially the number of people traveling will be quite low so we shall be reviewing in the first week to see how many flights are getting to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu or Eldoret and then we shall take the appropriate measures for social distancing,” CS Macharia said.

31/07/2020: CS @JamesMacharia_ communique on the resumption of international air travel on 1st August 2020. pic.twitter.com/MkCnMMWIKT

— Ministry of Transport Ke. (MoTIHUD & PW) (@TransportKE) July 31, 2020