New airline gives boost to Vision 2030 objectives

By Philip Mwakio

Stakeholders in the tourism and national economic development sectors have welcomed the launch of direct flights between Nairobi and the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi by Etihad Airways.

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, commenced direct flights to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last Sunday making it the latest international airline to adopt Nairobi as its regional hub.

Speaking when he paid courtesy calls to Vision 2030 Director General Mugo Kibati and Tourism Secretary Dr Nelson Githinji, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner explained that the airline’s new service will provide both passenger and cargo services.

The twin services are expected to significantly boost tourism traffic to Kenya from the middle east and Asia among other destinations.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now the largest exporter of goods to Kenya. The value of UAE exports to Kenya currently estimated to be standing at Sh177.8 billion represent 23.3 per cent of Kenya’s total imports last year.

Kibati confirmed that Etihad’s service launch was a big boost to the country’s bid to position JKIA as a regional transport hub given that the expansion and modernisation of the airport is one of the flagship projects under Vision 2030.

"The expansion and modernisation of JKIA is geared at attracting leading airlines to use Nairobi as their regional hub. By flying into JKIA, Etihad has significantly facilitated the scheduled achievement of this particular flagship project," Kibati explained.

Since March 2009, Etihad has been operating dedicated cargo services to Nairobi, and now operates five freighter flights with a total capacity of 340 tonnes each week. With the launch of the passenger services in April, Etihad’s cargo carrying capacity to and from Nairobi will increase by five per cent.

"This new route will allow Etihad to tap into large traffic flows between East Africa, North Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent," Baumgartner, said.

"Nairobi is an ideal addition to Etihad’s global footprint. There are 38,000 Kenyans residing in the UAE and there are large and established point-to-point traffic flows between the two countries," he added.

The new daily, two-class A320 service is the airline’s first to East Africa and a critically important next step in expanding its presence in Africa.

The airline will also reach into West Africa with the introduction of flights to Nigeria in July 2012. Etihad Airways also commenced operations to the Seychelles in November 2011 and Libya in January of this year.