Thursday April 13, 2017
Wajir Airport in Northern Kenya is staring at over Ksh 2 million ($20,000) losses in monthly revenue following the resumption of direct flights between Mogadishu and Nairobi.
In an interview with the Nation, the airport manager Charles Kiong'a said that the directive would have a huge economical impact on the facility, which was dependent on planes from Mogadishu for its revenue. He said that the airport collected Ksh531,300 ($5,131) weekly from the planes which amounted to Ksh2,125,200 ($21,252) monthly in terms of income.
Juba airways, African Express East Africa, Safari Express, Freedom Airline, Oceanic and Fan Jet Express craft used to land at the airport before proceeding to Nairobi.
The move to resume direct flights followed a state visit by the newly -elected Somalia President Mohammed Farmajo to Kenya where he reached the agreement with his host President Uhuru Kenyatta. The move is aimed at strengthening diplomatic and trade ties between the two countries.
Uhuru announces direct flights to Mogadishu
Initially, planes from Mogadishu had to pass through Wajir for security checks and screening before proceeding to Nairobi, after a directive by former President Mwai Kibaki, informed by the growing threat of terror attacks on Kenya by the al Qaeda -linked terror group the al Shabaab.
Mr Kiong'a said that unless some more domestic flights are introduced into and out of the airport, the move is also likely to result in an increase in transport costs from the facility because of the reduced number of aircraft.
Passengers are currently being charged between Ksh5,000 ($50) and Ksh 6,000 ($60) from Wajir to Nairobi and between Ksh10,000 ($100) and Ksh15,000 ($150) from Nairobi to Wajir.