First direct flight from Kenya to New York:- The first direct flight from Nairobi to New York will departs from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on October 28; 2018. The US government has finally granted JKIA Last Point of Departure status which allows the airport to facilitate direct flights between Kenya and the United States of America.

Kenya’s national carrier made its inaugural direct flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi to John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York City.

First direct flight from Kenya to New York

National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) will now fly directly to the US, presenting new opportunities for Kenyans in travel, trade and commerce. The maiden flight is set to take off on October 28, 2018.

“This is a major achievement for Kenya as JKIA becomes one of the elite African airports to be certified as a Last Point of Departure to the United States. JKIA is now poised to become the premier hub in Africa.” said Kenya Airports Authority Managing Director, Johnny Andersen.

First direct flight from Kenya to New York:- Kenya Airways Boeing 787-8 Dream-liner has finally left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for New York City, US, in a historic flight in Kenya’s aviation industry. The plane left the airport at exactly 11.20pm, although it had been scheduled to leave at 10.45pm.

First direct flight from Kenya to New York:- The plane is expected to touch down at the JF Kennedy International airport Monday at 1:25pm local time, completing a historic flight that will shave up to seven hours off the tortuous journey that usually involves long layovers in Europe or the Middle East. Normal flights from Kenya to the US take up to 22 hours for the 11,849km between Nairobi and New York.

This development has brought into sharp focus discussions on how Kenya and Africa will benefit from the direct flights in terms of trade, tourism and diaspora remittances. The direct flights will link Kenya and Africa in general to the West Indian Coast and the Western hemisphere consisting of the Americas, parts of Eurasia, Russia, Oceania and Antarctica.

They will grow trade ties and volumes between Kenya and the US thereby augmenting efforts by Government to reduce the existing trade imbalance in favors of the US. According to trade statistics, aggregate trade between US and Kenya last year amounted to Sh102.2 billion, with US exports to Kenya totaling Sh57.2 billion while Kenya’s exports to the US amounted to Sh45 billion.

With the launch of the Nairobi-New York direct flights, an increase in the flow of goods and services between the two countries will come about by nearly 25 per cent per year. More importantly, Kenya has the opportunity to increase access of her goods to the American market and reap the benefits of African Growth Opportunity Act that accords duty-free exports for selected products.

First direct flight from Kenya to New York

As trade grows, there will be more foreign exchange earnings and technological transfer that will create employment not only in Kenya but also in East Africa and Africa as a whole. With shortened flight duration and zero layover, the traditional 22-hour journey across trans-Atlantic will be reduced to 14 hours.

Kenya now has an opportunity to not only increase her trade with the US but to also promote the inflow of foreign investments. Investors can hold meetings in Kenya have dinner in Nairobi and breakfast in New York city. The direct flights will also promote tourism through increased visitors’ arrival from the US and the Western hemisphere, which is expected to open up Kenya to new growth frontiers.

Last year, the US remained Kenya’s leading source of market for tourists with 114,507 visitors. The sector is estimated to grow at 16 per cent premised on the Kenya-US direct flights and the “visa-on-arrival” policy for Africans.