Kenyan airlines have finally been allowed to land in Tanzania, bringing an end to the airspace feud between the two countries.
This is after the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) announced that it had lifted the suspension that hit Kenyan airlines.
In a statement, TCAA director general Hamza Johari said the authority was acting on a reciprocal basis after its Kenyan counterpart, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), included Tanzania on a revised list of countries exempted from the 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival.
“In view of that and on a reciprocal basis, Tanzania has now lifted the suspension for all Kenyan Operators namely, Kenya Airways, Fly 540 Limited, Safarilink Aviation, and AirKenya Express Limited,” TCAA director general Hamza Johari said.
Mr Johari said Kenyan carriers can resume flights immediately.
Last month, Tanzania nullified its approval for Kenya Airways to land in the country with effect from August 1, 2020 after Kenya excluded it from a list of about 111 countries whose passengers are allowed to enter Kenya without being quarantined for 14 days.
A few days later, Tanzania banned three more Kenyan carriers – AirKenya Express, Fly540 and Safarilink Aviation – from flying into the country as it piled pressure on Kenya to ease its Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The tit-for-tat between the two countries was precipitated by different approaches that they have taken to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Kenya has ranked Tanzania on its red list, the latter has always maintained that it is Covid-19 free.