The Kenyan government allows two planes to leave Kenya and deliver electronic equipment to Hargeisa, Somaliland, although it has unilaterally banned flights to and from Somalia just few days ago.
The planes, authorized yesterday by the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will allow two aircraft operated by Astral Aviation to carry a cargo from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to Hargeisa, capital of the renegade regional state of Somaliland, via Djibouti.
The two aircrafts registered in Kenya were allowed to carry cargo between May 13 and 15, and could be extended if they did not fly during that time.
However, it is not clear how the planes will escape from the Somali Air Traffic Control, as they will eventually enter Somali airspace and land in Hargeisa, a Somali soil.
On May 11th, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said, without any justification, that commercial flights to and from Somalia would be paused for three months, except for medical evacuation and United Nations flights for humanitarian missions.
Somali Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Duran Farah, said in a statement that his government was not notified about Kenya’s flight suspension that many believe might be related to Somalia’s continuous ban on Kenya’s miraa (khat) imports.
The minister said that this would have an impact on both countries, noting that there was no particular problem in Somalia, noting that a few days ago the government of Somalia restored diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On May 12th, Mr. Duran Ahmed Farah met with the board of directors of the country’s airlines, a day after Kenya suspended flights to Somalia.
The meeting discussed a process to address the impact of the Kenyan government’s ban on flights, according to a statement from the minister’s office.
“I promise that the government will work with the airline industry to make sure Kenyan decision doesn’t affect the industry.” said Minister Duran Farah. He also underlined the Somali Government’s commitment to improving aviation cooperation in the region.
Just days after Qatar negotiated the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries, Kenya seems to forget the reasons which led to the severance of these relations. By exempting Somaliland from its flight suspension, it is once again clear that the Kenyan leadership has not learned its lesson regarding Somali sovereignty.
