Taita Taveta County to mark 100 years since first flight

The Taita Taveta County government and stakeholders in the tourism industry are fine tuning preparations to mark 100 years since the first flight in East and Central Africa took off from dusty Maktau.

Maktau has the oldest airstrip in East and Central Africa region, built by the British during their WW1 campaign against the Germans in the former Tanganyika.

The plane that made the first powered flight had been assembled in France and shipped in parts to Mombasa harbour before being transported by rail to Maktau, where British forces battling their German East Africa counterparts used it to carry out air surveillance and aerial bombardement in Mbuyuni, 12 miles away.

The flight took off on October 12, 1915.

Already a committee chaired by the Taita Taveta County Executive for Tourism Alexander Mwangeka has announced that over 50 light aircraft belonging to members of the Aero Club of East Africa will be participating in a three-day air extravaganza.

‘’This is not only a historical event which will put Taita Taveta on the world map in aviation history but also help catapult tourism in our area which has, like the rest of the country, suffered from a slump,’’ Mr Mwangeka said.

Willie Mwadillo, General Manager of Sarova Taita Hills and Salt Lick lodges, and chairman of the Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (Kahc) Tsavo and Amboseli branch, said that 50 planes drawn from across Kenya and two from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have confirmed their participation in the air show.