Kenya's answer to Dubai has officially arrived, which already before Christmas 2021 had closed its borders to anyone coming from Kenya by the only means available, that is, the national airline Emirates and its low cost subsidiary Air Dubai, but had left open the reverse route, from Dubai to Nairobi, given that Kenya Airways has not been able to operate in the Middle East for some time now.
"Passenger flights in and out of Emirates are suspended for a period of seven days. We are doing this to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to the UAE," announced Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) Director General Gilbert Kibe, explaining to the press the meaning of the statement issued by KCAA on Monday, January 10 at midnight.
This is therefore a clear retaliatory move for the UAE's continuous extensions, since December 20, which then motivated the decision by the amount of false swab results coming not only from Kenya, but from Nairobi as Africa's airport hub, and consequent suspicious vaccination certificates.
The ban, therefore, appears to be a move to unblock with "shock therapy" the stalled negotiations for the total reopening of one of the air bridges to the rest of the world, as well as a route much used by wealthy Kenyans and businessmen based in Dubai who also have relations with Kenya.
The ban however does not affect cargo flights which are normally served by carriers such as Kenya Airways and Emirates airline from UEA to Kenya.