Open heavens!
For us it has always been an exclamation used to indicate the occurrence of an extraordinary event or one that can trigger a strong reaction.
Instead, the reaction that the entire Kenyan tourism sector would like to see happen and on which it is placing some new confidence is the opening up of Kenyan airspace and mainly Mombasa airport to the many airlines that have applied for it in the recent past and that in the future may ask to establish new routes connecting their country with Kenya.
It is called 'Open Sky policy' and it is nothing more than a 'quid pro quo', a give-and-take between flag carriers of each nation. Nothing is out of the air, because it is a policy already applicable and applied by many governments not only in Africa.
Yet Kenya has never fully adhered to this possibility, it is said in order to 'protect' its national fleet of the former 'pride of Africa' (the pride of Africa, as the old motto goes) Kenya Airways.
A company that is very reminiscent of Alitalia for its vicissitudes, past mismanagement, baleful partnerships and huge debts that invariably fall on Kenyan finances.
So what are the hoteliers, tour operators, safari organisers and all those involved in tourism in Kenya asking? That all companies that apply to land in Mombasa or Nairobi on an extended schedule be allowed to do so, obviously by offering Kenya Airways to do the same at their international stopovers or by setting up so-called 'code sharing' as is already done by some companies, but only abroad.
For now, Mombasa only receives Ethiopian Airways, and the requests of Qatar Airways and Emirates have been repeatedly sent back to sender, as have Ethiopian's own requests to be able to fly from Addis Ababa to Malindi, which is in fact already structured to be an international airport, even if it cannot yet land Boeing or similar, but only 'Bombardier' type planes with a maximum of a hundred seats. Not to mention the Turkish airline Turkish Airways which has been denied licences for Mombasa, while it can still fly to Nairobi. Permits too expensive, many say, or too difficult to obtain.
In any case, today tourism operators have asked to share the image that we are also proposing and to make their voices heard, from 12 noon (local time in Kenya) on all social networks.
It is time for Kenya's skies to open up for all!