Skyward introduces daily Wilson-Kakamega flights - VIDEO
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (centre) is handed the Kenyan flag by Skyward Express Chairman and CEO Captain Mohamed Abdi (left) as Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen looks on during the launch of the inaugural commercial flight from Nairobi to Kakamega town on December 14, 2022, at Wilson Airport. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NMG
Local carrier Skyward Express has launched new flights from Nairobi to Kakamega as demand for air travel picks up during the Christmas festive season.
The airline eyeing passengers on the Western Kenya circuit will operate daily on the route with a Dash 8-Q100 type of aircraft that can carry up to 37 passengers.
The flight will depart Wilson Airport in Nairobi at 10 am to arrive at Kakamega airstrip at 10:45 am.
It will then leave Kakamega Airstrip at 11 am to arrive in Nairobi at 11:45 am.
Passengers on the route will pay Sh5,999 for a one-way air ticket on the route currently not served by any other domestic airline.
“We are starting operations on the Nairobi-Kakamega route with a daily flight. We may increase frequencies on the route as demand for air travel keeps on picking up,” Skyward Express chairman Captain Mohamed Abdi said on Wednesday in Nairobi during the launch.
Skyward Express launches flights to Kakamega
The airline’s route expansion comes as the aviation sector is recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that hit carriers’ bottom lines.
Airlines both in the domestic market and across the world had to contend with measures such as closures of borders that restricted the movement of aircraft across nations.
But demand for air travel has been picking up after the state lifted travel restrictions across counties, a move that has seen carriers resume flights on routes that were initially suspended.
For instance Skyward Express last year in April announced the reintroduction of four weekly flights to connect Mombasa, Kilifi and Lamu counties.
The flights have been bridging the gap left in the North Coast air transport.
Most business and holiday travellers from Lamu to Malindi and Mombasa prefer air travel, which takes about 30 minutes compared to the road which takes about four to five hours between Mombasa and Lamu.
