Italian airline Air Italy to bring in tourists

Kenya’s tourism fortunes are looking up with the return of direct flights from Italy in the next two weeks.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Betty Radier said yesterday that Air Italy will be flying into Kenya four times a week for the winter season that started this month up to end of March 2020.

“The number of passengers on an Air Italy flight will average between 150 and 190,” she said.

Previously known as Meridien Fly, the airline used to fly to Mombasa from Italy three times a week. It was the first carrier to enrol for Kenya’s Charter Incentive Programme when the initiative was launched by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala in January 2016.

The carrier rebranded to Air Italy in 2017 and continued to operate charter flights up to March this year.

In a related development, Polish holiday operator Rainbow Tours has started weekly charter flights to Mombasa, as it brought 189 tourists on Saturday night from Warsaw, Poland.

“During the winter season of 2019/20, the charter company will commence charter operations with weekly flights from October 12, 2019, up to the end of December 2019,” said KTB in a statement.