Among the many delays and suspensions of works and projects that the Covid-19 period has given to the coast of Kenya, always hungry for adjustments to boost international tourism, there is also the one that least of all should have stopped and that, indeed, could have had its decisive moment thanks to the closure of the structure.
We are obviously talking about Malindi International Airport.
Surprised? In fact, we haven't mentioned it in this space for seven months.
Other priorities have taken over and travel, tourism and direct flights have gone for a while in second, third floor.
Unfortunately, it is not only public opinion that has forgotten about Malindi airport, which for years has been waiting for the extension of the runway and the adaptation of the facilities, including security services, to accommodate charters and scheduled flights from other continents, as well as from African states.
As we have repeatedly reiterated, in the last two years, there have been many certificates of interest towards the coastal destination (which would also serve the entire County of Kilifi), starting from the Ethiopian flag carrier, Ethiopian Airways, to Qatar and Rwandair. This while other low-cost and charter companies were at the window.
Unfortunately the pandemic has blocked everything and put in trouble for other reasons the air transport companies, but at the same time the Kenyan Government did not think to proceed to be ready for a restart, all the more so if scheduled for 2021, which had long been prefigured as the date of the end of the works to adapt the runway in Malindi.
So it is not and will not be and the virus in part represents a good alibi.
Result: for a few more years Malindi International Airport will be a legend similar to that of the Penelope canvas with the brave Ulysses and we will wait for someone, after the end of the Covid-19 emergency, to finally throw the mask on why in all these years we have never had a destination with direct flights from all over the world.