Kenya: Swedish Charter Flight to Mombasa Airport Is Back

A Swedish charter flight, 'Novair', with a capacity of 211 passengers officially resumed direct flights to Mombasa this week long after the 2008 post election violence.

Receiving the flight at Moi International Airport, Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) director of marketing Jennifer Opondo hailed the move terming it a boost to the tourism industry.

The flight will be flying fortnightly from Sweden to Mombasa and this, Jennifer said, is likely to attract visitors from Finland, Norway and the entire Scandinavia. "The only operating charter flight from Scandinavia was canceled in 2007 due to post election violence. Over the past years, KTB has worked with tour operators to stimulate demand for direct charter flights to Mombasa," she said.

Mombasa Private Safaris general manager Cleophas Mong'are welcomed the move by the Scandinavia to launch the flight. "We are happy now that KTB in conjunction with Private Safaris have managed to bring the Scandinavia back. We hope for the best," said Mong'are.

The duo, however, challenged the concerned authorities to help repair the dilapidated roads within Mombasa town to attract more tourists. "Infrastructure is the image of tourism and we urge the people concerned to look at our roads in order for us to keep tourism in Mombasa afloat," said Jennifer.

 http://allafrica.com