Kenya Airways Cargo starts direct flight from Mombasa to Sharjah to boost perishable exports

November 26, 2020: After the launch of direct freighter service from Johannesburg to five African destinations earlier this week, Kenya Airways Cargo launched direct cargo flights from Moi International Airport, Mombasa to Sharjah, UAE. At present, a weekly flight will be operated on Wednesdays and as demand grows it will gradually increase frequencies and destinations.

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The direct flights will promote trade efficiency and timely delivery of Kenyan exports from Mombasa to the Middle East.

“Our customers truck seafood, meat, vegetables and fruits from Malindi which takes up to 10 hours to reach Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and thereon to UAE for 5 - 6 hours. Thus, we decided to uplift cargo directly from the source in Mombasa. We want to bridge our coastal region with the UAE and other areas,” observes Dick Murianki, director of Kenya Airways Cargo on the company’s LinkedIn page.

Murianki concluded that in future there will be flights leaving Kisumu, Eldoret to any destinations it demands.

Speaking during the launch, Kenya Airports Authority’s (KAA) commercial manager, Jack Bwana noted that the authority will do its best to support airfreight business not only at Moi but across all the airports in its network. "At Moi airport, we have already earmarked a location where the second ultra-modern cargo handling facility will be built and the groundbreaking will shortly be done,” he said.

Also Read: UK, Kenya ink deal for the tariff-free fresh produce trade

Meanwhile, the UK and Kenya signed the sixth bilateral trade deal worth £1.4 billion a year. The UK is, by far, the largest foreign investor in Kenya. To promote this, Perishable Movements Limited is in talks with Kenya Airways to charter a B787 Dreamliner aircraft between Nairobi and Heathrow twice a week.

On the other hand, while the world is preparing to carry Covid-19 vaccines, KAA stated that JKIA is ready to facilitate the safe trans-shipment of the vaccines. The company is working closely with TIACA and other organisations to ensure that it maintains international air cargo services standards.

In addition to being the hub for Kenya Airways and Astral Aviation and the preferred airport for over 20 foreign freight airlines, JKIA has five airside cargo terminals with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes which includes a cold-room capacity of 9,000 square metres.