KLM removes Kenya from list of countries with 'civil unrest' after uproar
Dutch national carrier KLM has removed Kenya by deletion from
its website, previously listed as having civil unrest, even as Tanzania’s three
major airports remain listed as ‘local threat.’
A civil unrest involves fierce fighting between different
groups of people or communities, so fierce that it could greatly disrupt
airspace operations leading to its closure.
On Friday night, in an alert displayed on the website and its
social media channels, KLM had instructed travellers to consider cancelling
their flights to Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi
over civil unrest, without disclosing the nature of the threat.
“Due to civil unrest in Tanzania and Kenya from Friday 27
January up to and including Monday 30 January 2023, some of our flights to,
from or via Dar-es-Salaam (DAR), Kilimanjaro (JRO), Zanzibar (ZNZ), and Nairobi
(NBO) may be disrupted. We are doing our very best to help you on your way again,”
the Friday night alert read.
However, the airline has since pulled down the alert on Kenya,
but maintained its messaging on Tanzania’s Dar-es-Salaam, Kilimanjaro and
Zanzibar airports, which all have international their status retained as ‘local
threats.’
“Does your original flight depart on Friday 27 January up to
and including Monday 30 January 2023 to, from or via any of the above-listed
destinations. Then your new departure date should be before or on Monday 6
February 2023. You can rebook your flight at the latest on Wednesday 1 February
2023,” the website says of Tanzania as at late Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said
Kenya, which had since reached out to KLM’s country representative, would still
demand an audience with the Netherlands for what he said was “unfounded, false,
insensitive and misleading information.”
In a statement to newsrooms, the CS vowed to escalate the
complaints through the diplomatic channels to stop the reoccurrence of the such
damaging descriptions about Kenya.
“I have officially registered my protest with the airline
against this unfounded, false, insensitive and misleading information that
paints Kenya in bad light. Whereas this post has been pulled down from KLM’s
social media pages, we will escalate the discussion through diplomatic channels
to ensure the same does not recur,” said CS Murkomen in the statement.
The CS further censured the airline’s notification for
peddling unconfirmed reports, underscoring the nature of effects it might have
on Kenya’s image.
“We are shocked that KLM would spread such fabricated,
malicious and false allegations without fact-checking and considering the
probable effects to our country’s image and economy,” he lamented.
In May 2021, the Dutch national carrier announced plans to
start direct flights to Mombasa from October that year, as it sought to
strengthen its presence in East Africa.
The launch of the direct flights came just a month after the
termination of its Africa-Europe joint venture partnership with national carrier
Kenya Airways.
KLM has been the biggest beneficiary of the international
flights riding on leisure travellers to the Coastal city through the pair of
weekly flights from Amsterdam on Thursdays and Sundays which include a loop to
Nairobi from Mombasa.
Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment