Kenya Airports Authority informed commercial airlines to stop affordable flights from Wajir to Nairobi

The deplorable state of roads between  Garissa and Wajir. {Courtesy}

WAJIR—Affordable flights from Wajir to Nairobi may soon be disrupted if plans by the agency that regulate Kenyan airports is enforced.

In a meeting at the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA) headquarters in Nairobi by the agency and the aviation firms that operate direct flight to Wajir and to Somalia, KAA informed airlines that transit commercial flights from Somalia through Wajir Airport will not be allowed to carry any passengers from Wajir.

At the 2:30 pm meeting on Monday, the airlines protested the directive while challenging the agency to issue written communication.

“This (directive) denies Wajir residents affordable flights,” an operation officer for a local airline company told Kulan Post on the phone.

He added that if the KAA plan becomes successful, then a direct flight to Nairobi from Wajir will cost between sh 10, 000- sh 15, 000 against the current market price of between sh 5, 000- sh 6, 000.

A number of passengers prefer to travel by plane to Nairobi because of the dilapidated roads between Garissa and Wajir.

Normally, a road trip from Wajir to Nairobi by public transport will last for over 10 hours where as it takes less than an hour to reach Nairobi by plane.

Locals airline companies believe airline firms that operate direct domestic flights are behind the plan to deny Wajir residents and visitors the option of traveling by air.

“This is terrible,” says Hashim Elmoge, an activist and the chairman of the Wajir Good Governance, a civil society orgernisation that promotes better governance and promotion of fair sharing of resources.

“What is the reason of the directive? Is it to give domestic flights the monopoly to do business in Wajir at the expense of the regional commercial flights and the people of Wajir?” Hashim asked.

This deal, if enforced, could lead to public distaste at a time when the local passengers are unhappy with the miltailisation of the commercial airport.