Skyward flies to Kitale after exit of Safarilink

Skyward Express will launch direct flights to Kitale next week two weeks after Safarilink stopped operating on the route citing bad business and infrastructure.

The airline, which operates flights to Kakamega, Eldoret, Mombasa, Diani, Lamu, Malindi, Lodwar, says the new flight will originate from Wilson Airport in Nairobi daily.

Passengers will pay Sh6,900 one-way, which is relatively the same amount Safarilink was charging on the route.

“Our decision has been informed by the gap that exists on that route at the moment. Currently, we do not have any scheduled flight that goes to Kitale from Nairobi,” the airline’s digital marketing executive Brian Wango told the Business Daily Thursday.

The carrier, he said, will deploy a Dash8-Q100 type of aircraft on the route. The flight types can carry up to 37 passengers.

Safarilink chief executive Alex Avedi said operations on the route had been hampered by high fuel costs and inadequate airport facilities.

Read: Safarilink cancels Kitale route citing bad business

Safarilink predominantly plies tourist destinations.

Skywards’ route expansion comes as the aviation sector is recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airlines both on the domestic market and across the world had to contend with measures such as closures of borders that restricted movement.

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