Ending flight ban good

Emirates flight [Courtesy]

The lifting of the ban on flights from Kenya to United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and vice versa is a welcome relief for residents of both countries.

UAE lifted the travel bans on Kenya and 11 other African countries yesterday, two days after Kenya allowed in passenger flights from Dubai as talks to resolve the impasse progressed.

Kenya banned all passenger flights to and from Dubai on January 10 following similar action by UAE over Covid fears.

The bans, however, as we pointed out earlier, were unnecessary. They have inflicted needless pain on the economies of both countries and greatly inconvenienced their people. While not underestimating the threat of Covid-19, the most reasonable action would have been to hold talks swiftly and thrash out sticking the points. That way, losses would have been avoided. Let's hope both sides have learnt their lesson.