Finally, Kenya Cleared For Direct Flights To US

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says Kenya has complied with international safety standards and can have direct flights to the U.S. after waiting for more than a decade.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has been trying for years to pass US aviation audits so that its international airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, can host direct flights between the two countries, helping tourism, trade, and travel for the growing Kenyan diaspora in North America.

After more than a year of infrastructure improvements, the airport has now been deemed category 1 in security and safety, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Kenyan transport minister James Macharia said that officials were now applying for codeshare agreements with US airlines and approval to begin direct flights.

This adds Kenya to the short list of just five sub-Saharan African countries that meet the IASA requirements and can fly directly to the US: South Africa, Ethiopia, Cabo Verde, Ghana, and Nigeria. African immigrants in the US, now over 2 million, should give the country’s struggling national carrier, Kenya Airways, a boost in traffic.

 Quartz