Business Daily (Nairobi)
Wangui Maina
17 February 2008
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has granted Ethiopian Airlines a licence to fly cargo on the Addis Ababa-Nairobi route.
Last week's gazettement of the two-year licence paves the way for one of Africa's most competitive airlines to fly cargo between the two cities five times a week. The airline will use a Boeing 757 plane to service the route.
Ethiopian Airlines is among 30 other domestic and international operators that successfully applied for licences to operate in Kenya.
Most of the licences, which were gazetted last Friday, are for domestic routes. The applications were made towards the end of last year.
Eight of the newly licensed airlines and routes were granted to charter operators who are mainly involved in flying European tourists in and out of the coastal resort of Mombasa.
The licences were issued to charter operators based in Amsterdam, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
Recent outbreak of violence and subsequent mass cancellation of booking, however, means that the licensees are unlikely to begin operations in the first half of this year.
Charter airlines Monarch and Euro Fly have also been licensed to fly more frequently to Mombasa's Moi International Airport.
Also licensed was Egypt Air, which operates passenger services between Nairobi and Cairo.
It got a two-year licence to operate an international non-scheduled cargo service on the Cairo-Sharjah-Khartoum-Eldoret-Nairobi-Cairo route. It will, however not pick or drop cargo between Eldoret and Nairobi.
Domestic operators Fly 540, Blue Sky Aviation and Imatong also received rights to increase frequencies on various routes.
They will mainly connect key tourist destinations like Ukunda and Mara.
Nanyuki-based Tropic Air will operate a hot air balloon within Laikipia as well as a licence to give instructions on the flying of balloons.
A training school based at Wilson Airport, Nairobi Flight Training, was also licensed for three years to offer flying instructions.
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