KQ has court order on staff rationalization lifted
KENYA AIRWAYS GETS COURT CLEARANCE TO ADVANCE STAFF RESTRUCTURING Reports about Kenya Airways sacking staff are outrageous and a product of fiction by sections of the media, aimed to cause industrial unrest. None of this is true. What is true is that the airline intends to outsource certain aspects of the operation, and that means […]
Kamuntu leaves tourism to change chairs with Mutagamba
KAMUNTU SHIFTED TO WATER WHILE MUTAGAMBE TAKES TOURISM (Report filed from the Constance Ephelia Resort, Port Glaud, Mahe) In what has been described as a game of musical chair shuffling has Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, since the formation of the government after the general elections in March last year Minister for Tourism, been moved to the […]
Air Berlin set to drop Mombasa from schedule in summer 2013
NOW AIR BERLIN CANCELS SUMMER SERIES TO MOMBASA The bad news about coast tourism seem to chase each other as the latest blow was just delivered when Air Berlin announced their plans to shelve Mombasa from their summer 2013 programme. Sources close to the heart of the Kenyan tourism industry now blame their minister and […]
Precision joins hands with Vodacom to encourage e-payment for tickets
PRECISION AIR JOINS HANDS WITH VODACOM FOR ADDED PAYMENT OPTION (Filed from the Constance Ephelia Resort, Port Glaud, Mahe) Paying by phone and getting a 20 percent rebate on top of it will make travel with Precision Air a financial windfall, when using ones Vodacom connection in Tanzania to make electronic payment with for a […]
Let common sense prevail as the KAA saga rages on
KAA SAGA LET COMMON SENSE PREVAIL AT LAST Report filed from the Constance Ephelia Resort, Port Glaud, Mahe Events in recent days overtook each other and developments came in thick and fast about the saga of the Greenfield Project, which is set to make or break the future of Kenyas aviation sector and will have […]
CAF Meeting kicks off at the Constance Ephelia Resort on Mahe
CAF MEETING KICKS OFF AT THE CONSTANCE EPHELIA RESORT ON MAHE (Filed from the Constance Ephelia Resort, Port Glaud, Mahe) The Creole island paradise of the Seychelles is providing a befitting background for delegates from 54 African nations, who have come to Mahe to hold their annual meetings of Standing Committees, the Executive Committee and […]
Air Seychelles shifts focus from Beijing to Hong Kong
AIR SEYCHELLES SET TO GO TO HONG KONG RATHER THAN BEIJING While in the Seychelles it was learned, that national carrier Air Seychelles, now flying in partnership with Etihad, the national airline of Abu Dhabi, will very likely fly to Hong Kong come February 2013, when the delivery of the airlines second Airbus A330 has […]
Seychelles Tourism Academy sends 14 students to Shannon University
SEYCHELLES TOURISM ACADEMY SENDS 14 STUDENTS TO SHANNON (Mrs. Margaret Pillay, CEO of the Seychelles National Human Resource Development Council hands over an airticket to Dublin to one of the 14 students selected to study for a hospitality graduate degree) The Seychelles Tourism Academy, in conjunction with NHRDC, has yesterday held a ceremony in Victoria, […]
Mombasa calm after assassination of radical Islamic preacher
DRIVE BY ASSASSINATION ROCKS MOMBASA The assassination of what is largely considered a radical Islamic preacher with suspected links to Al Shabab and other terrorist groups, has left Mombasa reeling from an immediate outbreak of violence, which left one more person dead in its wake as marauding youths stoned an innocent bystander to death. The […]
USAID hands over new visitor centre for Rwenzori Mountains National Park
RWENZORI VISITOR CENTRE OPENS ITS DOORS The USAID funded STAR programme, short for Sustainable Tourism in the Albertine Rift has now handed over their arguably last project component to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, when the new Rwenzori Mountains National Park visitor centre was formally launched earlier today. Built adjoining to the latest lodge addition to […]
Embraer prepares to deliver another E190 to Kenya Airways
KENYA AIRWAYS LATEST E190 TAKES TO THE SKIES IN BRAZIL The delivery of Kenya Airways 36th bird is now imminent as the aircraft was over the past two days put through a vigorous inflight testing regime, ahead of the formal handover later this week at the Embraer assembly plant in San Jose Dos Campos. The […]
Kilifi’s annual triathlon celebrates 10th edition with special weekend long festival
KILIFI MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL ALL SET FOR NEXT WEEKEND The Kilifi Plantation Airstrip is the venue for next weekends music and arts festival, which will be running alongside the Kilifi Gold Triathlon, one of the original events, many of which are now springing up all over Kenyas hotspots. The Kilifi Triathlon is already celebrating […]
Pan African Ornithological Congress shifted to Arusha
ARUSHA STEPS UP AS PAN AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGICAL MEETING SHIFTED FROM NIGERIA Organisers of the 13th Pan African Ornithological Congress have reportedly decided to shift the October event from its previous location in Nigeria to Arusha, where cost and other considerations appear to have been met by the host city, stepping up with an attractive events […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Fourth edition August 2012
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also cross load or […]
Raffles Seychelles gets into Forbes Top Ten Beach Resorts list
RAFFLES MAKES FORBES TOP TEN LIST The Raffles Seychelles on the archipelagos second island of Praslin, has just been included in the Forbes Travel Guide top 10 beach resorts worldwide. Forbes, one of Americas foremost business magazines, selected the resort for its exceptional location, beaches and outstanding service levels. The General Manager of Raffles Praslin […]
Keeping La Digue green by promoting battery powered vehicles
SEYCHELLES REMOVES DUTY ON ELECTRIC CARS TO PROMOTE A GREENER LA DIGUE The island of La Digue, long known to have no cars on the island and instead using the traditional oxcart or bicycles, has in recent years nevertheless seen a steady increase in motorcars and pickup trucks, to cater for the growing number of […]
Nairobi airport saga gets murkier and threatens to spin out of control
AIRPORT CONTROVERSY THREATENS TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL The latest twist in this murky saga is hitting the headlines now in Nairobi, with allegations of a million dollar bribe having been given to an unnamed official, who subsequently tried to turn all hell lose when his friends did not get the contract to build JKIAs […]
Tanzania set to host Africa’s Environment Ministers in Arusha
TANZANIA TO HOST CONTINENTAL ENVIRONMENT MEETING The 14th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment will take place in Arusha between the 10th and 14th of September and will according to information at hand be officially opened by President Kikwete. It is expected that a range of topics discussed at the Rio+20 Conference […]
KAA board sends CEO on compulsory leave as squabbles over contracts widen
KAA DESCENDS INTO INFIGHTING AS CEO SUSPENDED BY BOARD When elephants fight it is the grass which suffers goes the saying in Africa but here the grass is Kenyas crucially important aviation industry, as the countrys airport authority, responsible for the main hub in Nairobi and other airports across the country, descends further into infighting […]
Nyungwe forest buffer zone deal set to go operational
NYUNGWE BUFFER ZONES SET FOR COMMERCIAL TREE FARMING The contracts signed last year, between the Rwandan government and the New Forest Company, to manage and sustainably utilize the Nyungwe Forest buffer zones, are now becoming fully operational, after NFT has entered into a tripartite partnership with the Rwanda Development Bank and the Rwanda Social Security […]
1Time appears set to pull the plug on Mombasa flights
1TIME SETTO PULL FLIGHTS FROM MOMBASA A regular source from Kenyas tourism fraternity has just confirmed that 1Time, a South African LCC flying for a while now between Johannesburg and Mombasa, appears set to halt their operation to Kenyas Indian Ocean city. High regulatory and aviation services cost have been cited as the main reason, […]
COMESA’s First Sustainable Tourism Forum ends in Nairobi
REGIONAL COOPERATION SEEN AS KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS This week saw two important regional African meetings take place, focusing on the tourism industry and how to better use one of the worlds foremost economic sectors to alleviate poverty through increased cooperation and the subsequent investments, job creation and foreign exchange earnings. COMESA, The Common Market […]
Rwanda Hotel and Restaurant Association seeks to establish dialogue platform with local authorities
HOTELIERS SEEK DIALOGUE WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES Rwandas Hotel and Restaurant Association has expressed their readiness to involve local authorities in dialogue, aimed to mitigate if not prevent sudden swoops and even closures on their members over alleged or real infringement of regulations. A major meeting with mayors and other leading administration officials will seek to […]
Not a good day for Kenya tourism as a threesome of bad news break in one day
NOT A GOOD DAY FOR KENYA The first bit of bad news reached in the morning, that Mrs. Michuki, who only buried her husband some three months ago after the principal owner of the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club had passed away, also died in the early hours of the day. This robbed the […]
Masai Mara air crash update
MOMBASA AIR SAFARI CRASH KILLS TWO PILOTS In a breaking news development in Kenya it was reported that Mombasa Air Safaris suffered a fatal crash in the Masai Mara at Ngerende airstrip near the Mara Safari Club, with both pilots of the aircraft killed as well as at least one passenger. The aircraft had arrived […]
Mara crash of LET 410 causes loss of life
MOMBASA AIR SAFARI CRASH KILLS TWO PILOTS In a breaking news development in Kenya it was reported that Mombasa Air Safaris suffered a fatal crash in the Masai Mara at Ngerende airstrip near the Mara Safari Club, with both pilots of the aircraft killed as well as at least one passenger. At this moment of […]
Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club now mourns two principals in three months
WINDSOR GOLF HOTEL AND COUNTRY CLUB MOURNS DOUBLE BLOW Only weeks after the untimely death of the principal owner of Kenyas premier golf resort, the late Hon. John Michuki, Minister in President Kibakis government, his wife has also passed away this morning at the Nairobi Hospital, throwing the entire staff and management of the golf […]
Precision Air adds domestic capacity to meet growing demand for air travel
PRECISION AIR ADDS MORE DOMESTIC CAPACITY The sudden departure of Air Tanzania from the skies recently, when an emerging dispute over the continued lease of a B737-500 from a UAE based company prompted the plane to be grounded, has not had any significant impact on options for travelers in Tanzania. In fact, Precision Air, which […]
Loss of handling monopoly translates into greater profits for Swissport Tanzania
SWISSPORT PROFITS UP INSPITE OF INCREASED COMPETITION The loss of the Swissport monopoly for aircraft and cargo handling at Tanzanias main airports has apparently not dented the profitability of the company, with the latest figures available now showing an increase before taxes of 8 percent in a year by year comparison. The company, traded at […]
New ferry, new problems or just a shaky start …
NEW FERRY, NEW PROBLEMS, ALREADY? Rowdy scenes by travelers were reported in the local Ugandan media, surrounding the new MV Pearl ferry, officially launched only days earlier by the Minister for Works and Transport, when an apparent damage to an engine, caused by striking submerge rocks on attempting to land the ferry, required repairs to […]
