Kenya Airways to resume flight soon

The Kenyan national carrier, Kenya Airways is expected to resume flights here soon, officials have revealed.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina C. Mohamed (m), with Min. Ngafuan (l)

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina C. Mohamed told Liberian Foreign Minister Augustine Ngafuan on the sideline of the just ended Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that his government is reviewing the suspension of Kenya Airways flights to Liberia and other Ebola affected countries, adding, he is hopeful a decision for the resumption of flights to the Mano River basin will be made soon.

“We resisted, from March to July, every attempt and pressure to suspend flights, but we came under immense pressure in August from a host of external and internal actors”, she asserted.

She said Kenya is committed to African solidarity and will do nothing to stop the movement of Africans across the continent.

The Kenyan Foreign Minister who doubles as Secretary of the Cabinet made the remarks when her government announced the donation of US$1M (One Million United States Dollars) aid package from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in the fight against the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

A Foreign Ministry dispatched from Ethiopia, said the Minister Mohamed said the donation was instructed by President Uhuru Kenyatta as a way of extending solidarity from the people of Kenya to their brothers and sisters in the affected countries.

She extended sympathy on behalf of the Government and people of Kenyan in the loss of over two thousand lives in the Ebola affected countries and disclosed that the Kenyan Government would soon deploy a team of Kenyan medical personnel to Liberia to help fill some of the critical manpower gaps that have occurred as a result of the deaths of healthcare workers in the country.

In response  to concern by Liberia’s Foreign Minister Ngafuan, about the denial of entry into Kenya of Liberian students admitted by Kenyan universities, the Kenyan Foreign Minister expressed profound apologies for the unfortunate situation and attributed it to coordination challenges.  She then assured that the Liberian students who are presently stranded in Accra would be allowed immediate entry into Kenya so as to begin their academic sojourns without further delay.

She also re-assured that Kenya has not imposed any travel ban on individuals from Ebola affected countries. Minister Mohamed then hailed the long standing bilateral relationship between Kenya and Liberia and expressed the hope for even closer relations in the future.

Foreign Minister Ngafuan, on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Government and people of Liberia commended President Kenyatta, the Government and people of Kenya for Kenya’s decision to commit both financial and human resources to assist Liberia in its fight against Ebola.

“These gestures are concrete demonstrations of African solidarity and attest to the strong bond of friendship that exist between our two countries”, Minister Ngafuan enthusiastically remarked.

He also extended thanks to the Kenyan government for the decision to grant immediate entry to the stranded Liberian students, and welcomed news that the suspension of Kenyan Airways flights to Liberia is currently under review.

“We understand that it was a difficult decision for Kenya Airways to suspend flights. Kenya Airways has distinguished itself as a reliable and excellent African airline;  Liberians are therefore  anxiously looking  forward to flights of the airline to Monrovia as there presently exist no flights connecting Monrovia to Accra, which is a major hub in West Africa,” Ngafuan noted.