National Carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) will resume flights to Italy in June following an agreement with partner airlines to connect to their networks from their respective hubs in Nairobi and Rome.
KQ on Friday announced that direct flights from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Rome Fiumicino International Airport will resume on June 6, with the return flight scheduled for the next day.
The airline will fly to Rome twice a week – on Wednesdays and Sundays.
“We are delighted to resume weekly flights to Rome and will continue to maintain an expanding schedule to various destinations across our network as countries ease travel restrictions,” said Julius Thairu, the airline’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer.
“We continue to maintain the highest safety measures before boarding and on board our aircraft.”
Breakthrough
The resumption is a breakthrough for the airline which has been severely affected by travel restrictions in many countries in Europe in efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
KQ and Alitalia are partner airlines in the SkyTeam Airline Alliance and have a codeshare agreement connecting their networks from their respective hubs in Nairobi and Rome.
This means that flights by the two airlines will have one-stop connections through Rome to the rest of Italy, Europe and USA, as well as through Nairobi to the rest of Kenya and Africa.
This includes key destinations such as Mombasa, Seychelles (including Vanilla Islands), Mauritius, Victoria Falls, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Zanzibar.
“Our codeshare partnership with Alitalia offers our customers excellent connections in Rome and Nairobi,” Mr Thairu said.
The airline said it will continue to monitor the situation and increase flights as more airspaces are opened and travel restrictions eased.