This archive report was first published on 21 August 2021.
Published on August 21, 2021, local airlines in Kenya are calling for the government to ease some of the Covid-19 requirements for domestic air travellers.
The Kenya Association of Air Operators (Kaao) wants Kenyans using air travel to different airports and airstrips across the country to be treated the same way as those using rail and road transport.
Domestic air travellers are currently required to lodge their information in the same way as international visitors to help the fight against Covid-19, a process that Kaao describes as cumbersome and counterproductive.
According to Eutychus Waithaka, the executive secretary of Kaao, the use of the mobile travel locator app, Jitenge, among domestic air travellers has led to slow clearance at airports as officials use both the app and a physical form.
Waithaka argued that Jitenge is only effective as a contact tracing mechanism if it is applied to everyone travelling around Kenya, not just air transport passengers.
He pointed out that trains and public service vehicles are now operating at full capacity, ferrying much larger numbers than air transport, and their passengers are not required to use the app.
