Jambojet suspends flights to Lamu, blames airport's poor condition

Low-cost airline Jambojet has suspended flights to Lamu, dealing a blow to tourism on the archipelago.

Jambojet CEO Willem Hondius says the carrier stopped flights between Nairobi and Lamu last week, citing Manda Airport's poor condition.

The Jambojet boss said the apron, taxiway and runway at Manda Airport was in bad shape, making it difficult for aircraft to land or take off.

“Manda Airport’s apron and taxiway had deteriorated to such an extent that we could no longer operate our aircraft on the route,” he said.

“Apparently, even the runway was in bad condition. The airport’s services were not good enough and that’s why we suspended our flights.”

Mr Hondius explained that due to the deteriorating condition of the airport, the airline had to pull out of the route since it operates bigger aircraft.

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Lighter aircraft

Other airlines, he said, have lighter aircraft and might be able to sustain their operations at Manda Airport.

However, he added that the carrier would resume flights once the challenges are addressed.

“We assure our customers that we will make a decision to fly back to Lamu when the Kenya Airports Authority improves the facility,” the Jambojet chief executive said.

The county’s tourism director, Ali Mohamed, said Jambojet’s suspension of flights to Lamu was a major blow to tourism in the archipelago.

He added that airline had been transporting many tourists to Lamu since its aircraft had a bigger capacity.

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Cancelled bookings

Mr Ali said Jambojet’s suspension of flights had triggered cancellation of hotel bookings just before the high tourist season begins next week.

“Jambojet was popular because it’s a budget carrier and also had larger seat capacity compared to other operators,” he said.

He noted that hotels in Lamu were expecting a boom in business this season after some western countries lifted travel advisories last year.

Mr Mohamed called on the Kenya Airports Authority to rehabilitate the airport to enable aircraft land safely at Manda Airport.

A KAA official, who wished not to be named, said the authority would soon rehabilitate the airport’s infrastructure for smooth aircraft operations.

He, however, noted that other local airlines such as fly540, Air Kenya, Safarilink, Skyward Express and SAX were still operating flights to Lamu.