This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
June 6, 2020 - Nairobi, Kenya - President Uhuru Kenyatta has extended international travel restrictions in Kenya, keeping the country off-limits to international travelers.
The decision was announced in a State House address, where the president directed the Ministry of Transport to develop protocols for the resumption of local air travel within seven days.
Kenya closed its borders and canceled international flights in March to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has infected over 2,600 people, including 83 fatalities.
‘I have applied my mind to the different scenarios presented by our experts. And I have reconciled myself to the fact that to ‘open’ or not to ‘open’ up is not a dilemma between a right and a wrong. It is a dilemma between two rights,’ Kenyatta said on Saturday.
The extension of travel restrictions comes as Kenya Airways posted a net loss of Sh12.98 billion for the year ended December 2019, with the airline warning of further losses due to the pandemic.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines worldwide have parked 80-90% of their aircraft, with an estimated $314 billion in revenues lost this year.
