Fly 540 launches daily flights to Lodwar

By James Ratemo

Lodwar Residents and businesmen can now fly to the town after Five Forty Aviation launched daily flights to the region.

Fly 540 planes will provide daily services to the marginalised area via Kitale.

After the inaugural flight on Tuesday, the Airline’s Operations Director Nixon Ooko told accompanying journalists Lodwar has been added to the network of destinations served by 540 Aviation from the Airline’s Nairobi hub. "The flights leave unit 3 of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 7am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Lodwar at 8.30 am," said Ooko.

On Friday and Sunday, the aircraft departs from Nairobi Airport at 4 pm to arrive in Lodwar at 5.30pm.

The return flights depart at 9 am on all days except Fridays and Sundays when the departure is 5.45pm.

This is a reprieve since from Nairobi to Lodwar, passengers take two days by road but flight takes one and half hours.

Aid workers

Company Sales and Marketing Manager Jackie Okutoi said the flights target missionaries and aid workers in the area who often waste a lot of time traveling through the harsh weather by road.

According to a resident, Lodwar-bound passengers usually stop over for a night in Kitale since it is extremely dangerous to travel at night through Pokot land.

The Five Forty Aviation company combined the airline’s first passenger flight to Lodwar with delivery of five tonnes of maize meal to the community of Lochor Aikeny village, which is 70 km from Lodwar.

"Ten cargo flights have been pledged by the Five Forty Aviation to help the Kenya Red Cross speed allocation of famine relief food to areas in desperate need of supplies," Okutoi said.

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Lodwar Fly 540