The second flight from the United Kingdom bringing stranded Kenyans has touched down today morning. The journey was possible through the partnership of Kenya Airways and the government of Kenya. Kenyans had been stranded in UK after passenger flights were suspended because of Coronavirus.
“KQ103 has touched down. This is our second special flight from the UK in partnership with the Government of Kenya. Ambassador Michael Oyugi of Foreign Office Kenya was at the airport to welcome the flight home,” Kenya Airways tweeted.
Kenyans will be quarantined in Kenya for 14-28 days at their own costs.
Yesterday, Kenya’s High Commissioner to the UK Manoah Esipisu said the Kenya Airways chattered plane left London Heathrow Airport at around 3pm on Friday.
The flight from London to Kenya was on a first-come-first-served basis. The stranded Kenyans paid Ksh101, 000 per ticket in the economy class or Ksh279, 000 in the business class. The charges for the second flight from the UK was nearly double the first.
READ ALSO: Kenya to join investigations into cargo plane crash in Somalia
However, Kenya Airways explained the huge disparity in charges between the first and the second flight. It said the first plane to UK and back was also carrying cargo. However, the second flight had carried British Nationals from Kenya and helped them to reconnect with families back in UK.
“There is a huge difference in price because the flight on May 4 was ferrying cargo to and from the UK. It was therefore, possible to balance out operating costs between cargo and passenger services,” Kenya Airways told Local Daily on Thursday.
The government of Kenya evacuated Kenyans stranded in India and China a week ago at their own costs. Moreover, Kenyans evacuated from India had to pay Ksh46, 000 per ticket while those from China paid Ksh80, 242 per ticket.
