Government Sends Second KQ Flight to Evacuate Kenyans Stranded in the UK

A second Kenya Airways flight is this week set to fly home Kenyans stranded in the United Kingdom amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The chartered flight organized by the Kenyan High Commission in London in collaboration with the British government will depart Heathrow Airport for Nairobi on Friday, May 15th.

Kenya’s High Commissioner to the UK Manoah Esipisu said Kenyans seeking to travel home on this flight must buy tickets from their own pockets.

“The flight has been loaded on the Kenya Airways booking system and is available for sale on a first-come-first-served basis,” the mission said in a statement.

The returnees will be placed under mandatory quarantine in designated facilities for a period of between 14 and 28 days upon arrival in the country. 

“All Kenyans arriving in the country will be quarantined as required by the Government of Kenya, Ministry of Health guidelines. Passengers will bear the costs of quarantine,” the mission added.

On May 4th, a chartered KQ flight carrying 84 Kenyans who were stuck in the UK landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi from London.

As of Tuesday, May 12th, at least 700 citizens stranded in various foreign countries in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak had been evacuated at their own cost, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. 

They were repatriated from the US, UK, India, and China. The government has organized more chartered flights to evacuate Kenyans from various countries.