Kenya and South Africa have agreed to merge their national Airlines, thus, the Kenyan Airways (KQ) and the South African Airways (SAA) into a Pan-African one. Kenyatta was talking to Kenyans in a new year message when he made the important announcement.
The president said, “to boost tourism, trade, and social engagement; and to bolster continental integration; our national carrier Kenya Airways will join hands with our partners in South Africa to establish a Pan-African Airline.” The two countries signed the agreement when Uhuru visited South Africa somewhere in November 2021. According to the arrangement, the partnership will take effect fully in the year 2023. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed earlier by the two airlines covering the exchange of knowledge, expertise, innovation, digital technologies, global best practice among others.
In terms of the tourism promotion aspect, the Kenyan Airways and the South African Airways will make use of the O.R. Tambo International Airport and Jomo Kenyatta International Airports. This will revamp the sector and form a very formidable operation. They both say they will work together for financial viability on mutual terms.
In a joint statement, they two airlines said: “One of the pillars to achieve this is coming together and combining assets to provide a more robust and ultimately competitive aviation ecosystem to pursue the commercial viability of both carriers. The partnership will improve the financial viability of both airlines by creating the most formidable air transport connection in Africa.”
