Kenya Airways is expanding its route for flights to the United States to go past New York, two years after their maiden direct flight to the city.
The heavily tracked flight was a 15-hour journey that Kenyans could follow in real-time across several websites, and it brought hopes of improving economic ties between Kenya and the United States due to a faster movement of goods into either market.
In a new amendment of the air service agreement between Kenya and the US, Members of Parliament have voted and endorsed a decision by the Cabinet and Transport Ministry to expand the route network.
This deal will open new opportunities, the first one being that American carriers will have direct access to Kenya, as none of them currently fly to Nairobi.
Secondly, the new pact will allow the Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) of the US to start cargo operations in the country.
FedEx is a multinational company that specializes in transportation especially in the world of e-commerce.
The company wants to set a base for its operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, expanding further the movement of goods and other consumer services and needs.
“It is in the interest of the country to ratify the agreement to allow the airlines to expand their route network and engage in commercial arrangements as well as create job opportunities,” Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia
Earlier in the year, Kenya Airways signed a partnership with a top logistics company in the UK called Skyports, to operate commercial drones in Kenya.
KQ said that the operations of this drone technology will begin in the last quarter of the year, and we are eager to see how that will develop.
Kenya Airways has been struggling to make a turnaround in revenue for years, and the covid19 pandemic has been a nail in the coffin to their persistent problems.
Once FedEx sets up a base, strategic collaboration with the different other partnerships they have established will be open up a variety of opportunities in the aviation industry.
