What direct flights from US to Kenya mean exactly

Posted by Jambo 

By Antony Karanja|tgkaranja@jambonewspot.com

As many Kenyans look forward to direct flights between US and Kenya, there seems to be confusion among many readers as to what a direct flight means.

Many readers have taken the assumption that a direct flight from Kenyan to US will be a long and tiresome one.

This assumption clearly does not make a correct distinction between a direct flight and a non-stop flight.

Direct flights are not the same as non-stop flights.

A direct flight makes a scheduled stop at an another airport between its flight departure and its final destination. However, passengers do not embark from the plane and remain inside before it takes off generally in a shorter time transit time.

In 2009, Delta Airlines was very close to inaugurating direct flights between Atlanta and Nairobi, with a stop-over in Dakar, Senegal.

However, a day to the scheduled start of the service, US aviation officials, refused to clear the service.

No reasons were provided for the cancellation though US authorities cited general concerns regarding “security vulnerabilities in and around Nairobi.”

The cancellation drew loud condemnation by Kenyan officials with the then Foreign Minister Moses Wetang’ula summoning then-US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger to his office to express Kenya’s displeasure.

On Thursday, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) praised Kenya’s “significant progress” in ensuring civil aviation safety but did not commit to approving direct flights between the two countries.