Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), leading to a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing air travel connectivity between Kenya and the Middle East, while supporting broader economic growth across East Africa.
At the heart of the agreement is a comprehensive codeshare arrangement that will enable seamless travel across both carriers’ networks. As part of the expanded collaboration, Qatar Airways will introduce a third daily frequency between Doha and Nairobi, codeshared with Kenya Airways. The flights will be available for booking in the coming days.
In addition, the partnership will mark the launch of Kenya Airways-operated, Qatar Airways-marketed flights between Mombasa and Doha, set to begin during the upcoming winter season. The airlines also plan to extend codeshare cooperation across their broader networks, providing passengers with improved connectivity to destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas via Qatar Airways’ Doha hub, Hamad International Airport.
Economic growth
Kenya Airways Group MD and CEO, Allan Kilavuka, welcomed the move as a key milestone in the airline’s turnaround journey: “This partnership perfectly aligns with our airline’s robust turnaround strategy, which saw Kenya Airways’ return to profit for the first time in more than a decade earlier this year. The collaboration will also help expedite Kenya Airways’ efforts to boost tourism and air cargo activities, turning these and others into pivotal economic growth propellers for Kenya and the East African region.”
Qatar Airways Group CEO, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, highlighted the growing importance of Africa in the airline’s global strategy: “This partnership is yet another demonstration of our deepening ties with the African region. Today’s agreement, which comes as we celebrate 20 years of flying to Kenya, is coupled with our recognisable record of partnerships across the continent, most recently through our investment in Airlink. Our growing collaboration with our African counterparts ensures that Qatar Airways continues to contribute to the continent’s rapidly evolving aviation and economic ecosystem.”
Qatar Airways currently operates over 170 weekly flights to 30 cities across Africa and has recently optimised its African schedules to enhance connectivity to global destinations such as Brussels, Guangzhou, London, New York, and Washington.
The enhanced partnership is expected to significantly improve passenger and cargo capacity, increase tourism inflows into Kenya’s coastal and safari destinations, and create a more efficient airbridge between East Africa and the rest of the world.