Following years of failed audits and months of delay after the last audit finally put Jomo Kenyatta International Airport into the pass section, news has emerged overnight that Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has at last been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the coveted Category 1 status.
While it may take some time before actual direct flights will be launched, most likely by Kenya Airways and their SkyTeam alliance partner Delta, the legal foundation is now taken care of. Carriers wishing to offer direct or nonstop flights now have to get designation from their respective home countries and then apply for landing rights, in Kenya for Nairobi and possibly Mombasa, and in the United States at an airport of their choice.
Nekaj letališč v Afriki ima to stopnjo dovoljenja za skladnost z zahtevami ZDA, med njimi so ključna letalska središča Addis Ababa, Johannesburg in Casablanca, pridružitev Nairobija temu ekskluzivnemu klubu pa bo nedvomno pripomogla k povečanju turizma in trgovine.
Združene države so se že lani izkazale kot največji izvorni trg Kenije za turiste in prehitele Združeno kraljestvo, od koder se čarterski leti v Mombaso še vedno niso vrnili na raven iz preteklih let.
Ker se je izkazalo, da gre za vrhunsko novico, deležniki v turizmu na tej stopnji niso imeli časa za odziv.
