Category: Uncategorized

Rwanda awards Bugesera airport construction to Chinese state construction firm

CHINESE COMPANY WINS TENDER FOR NEW BUGESERA AIRPORT IN RWANDA News broke a few days ago that Rwanda had finally awarded the contract for the new international airport at Bugesera to the winning bidder, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The move was overdue and anxiously awaited by Rwanda’s aviation fraternity, in particular RwandAir, which […]

Nairobi to Nakuru rail link disrupted following flooding in Naivasha area

TORRENTIAL RAINS LEAD TO RAIL SUSPENSION Kenya Railways has yesterday, for the time being at least, suspended train operations between Nairobi and Nakuru after extensive flooding was reported from the Naivasha area in the Rift Valley. Motorists too were warned to be extra careful after the river Malewa burst its banks, threatening to submerge sections […]

RDB’s Rwigamba takes over chair of GVTC

RICA RWIGAMBA TAKES OVER CHAIR OF GVTC RDB’s Head of Tourism and Conservation Rica Rwigamba has yesterday taken over as Chairperson of the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, which brings together Rwanda, Uganda and the Congo DR for the purpose of conservation and management of the mountain gorilla populations and their habitat. Rica is starting her […]

Serena continues to invest in the face of lower profits

SERENA CONTINUE TO INVEST INSPITE OF LOWERED PROFITS Serena Hotels, East Africa’s predominant market leader in the hospitality industry, has once again bucked the trend, when continuing to invest significant funds in the upgrading of selected properties. Reports from Nairobi tell the story that the company’s 2012 year on year profits have reduced by some […]

Air Seychelles signs codeshare deal to Dublin

AIR SEYCHELLES ADDS DUBLIN TO CODE SHARE DESTINATIONS Information just received from the Seychelles confirms the latest grapevine talk, that Air Seychelles has signed up to another codeshare agreement with Etihad, partner of the Seychellois national airline and a 40 percent shareholder in it, to offer seamless connections to the Irish capital city of Dublin. […]

Bukoba Airport set for finishing touches of modernization programme

BUKOBA AIRPORT MODERNIZATION ON COURSE FOR MAY OPENING A regular aviation source in Dar es Salaam has confirmed that the airport of Tanzania’s Lake Victoria township of Bukoba, located on the western shores of the lake, and administrative capital of the Kagera region of the country, will see the new facilities officially launched by the […]

New bat species found in South Sudan

NEW BAT SPECIES FOUND IN SOUTH SUDAN EXCITES CONSERVATION FRATERNITY   Information was received from a source in Juba, the capital of South Sudan that a new bat species was discovered recently in the country and was subsequently named ‘Niumbaha Superba’. Similar to a bat discovered in 1939 in the then Belgian Congo, now the […]

Kenya Airways introduces first owned B737-300C aircraft to the public

KENYA AIRWAYS INTRODUCES FIRST OWNED FREIGHTER TO THE PUBLIC Kenya Airways yesterday introduced the media, cargo partners and the general public to their first fully owned B737-300 freighter aircraft, which was converted over the past few months from a passenger version to a cargo plane, the first of four such planned conversions. Registered as 5Y-KQC […]

Kenya set to host World Travel Awards for Africa in October

KENYA TOURISM BOARD CONFIRMS HOSTING OF WTA AWARD CEREMONY No sooner had the former tourism minister Mwazo left Utalii House did the Kenya Tourism Board confirm that the country has been selected to host the World Tourism Award Ceremony for Africa this coming October, aka the Oscars of Tourism. A gala of major proportions is […]

Uganda doing much better than WEF rankings suggest say tourism stakeholders

UGANDA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY REJECTS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM RANKINGS ‘Uganda has improved in many spheres, that’s why it has continued to receive global recognitions. Infrastructure and security have all improved so I don’t know what they are talking about’ said Mr. Cuthbert Baguma, CEO of the Tourism Uganda, aka Uganda Tourism Board, when the results of […]

FlyDubai confirms April 21st as date for inaugural flight to Juba

FLY DUBAI SET FOR APRIL 21ST INAUGURAL FLIGHT TO JUBA As reported here in February in a breaking news article, Fly Dubai will commence flights to Juba from the 21st of April. Initially will the Dubai based LCC fly four times a week, using their workhorse B737-800 for the service, though it is expected that […]

Vietnamese national arrested at JKIA with nearly 34 Kg’s of blood ivory

KENYA NABBS MORE BLOOD IVORY SMUGGLERS AS 1.000 MORE RANGERS JOIN KWS A Vietnamese national was arrested earlier in the week at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, when he was found with nearly 34 kilogrammes of carved and cut up ivory. Reports from Nairobi speak of almost 500 pieces of ivory, painted brown to look […]

Kenya’s new government set to boost tourism and tackle poaching

KENYA’S TOURISM AND CONSERVATION MENTIONED IN INAUGURAL SPEECHES History came home to roost yesterday when at 12.35 local time Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s founding father, was sworn in as the country’s fourth President. He has now returned to the place of his youth where he spent his early years as a […]

Ethiopian delays South America flights to July

ETHIOPIAN DELAYS SOUTH AMERICA FLIGHTS ONCE AGAIN As with other delays in commencing flights has Ethiopian Airlines now conceded that their planned flights to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will be pushed back by at least another month. This development is likely caused by the lack of available aircraft while the airline’s prized B787 […]

Murchisons Falls NP golf course project – not again surely …

CONTROVERSIAL GOLF COURSE PROJECT BACK IN THE NEWS  When presiding over the passing out of over 400 new Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers last week, President Museveni again let fly over his disappointment, if not outright anger, for having been defied in the past by UWA, NEAM and the conservation fraternity at large, to give permission […]

Travelport sets up shop directly in Nairobi

TRAVELPORT SETS UP DIRECT OFFICES IN KENYA Travelport Africa has announced that they will commence direct operations in Kenya and have appointed Mr. Rajab Itambo as General Manager Kenya. He joins the company from Kenya Airways where he has been working on the Travelport assignment since 2008. The past partnership with Kenya Airways, which had […]

19 years and counting – the Rwandan genocide of 1994 must never be forgotten

19 YEARS ON BUT THE GENOCIDE REMAINS ONE OF EAST AFRICA’S DARKEST PERIODS Today, 19 years ago, then Rwanda’s President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down as it came in to land from a crucial meeting in Arusha, where he had reportedly made major concessions in the talks with the RPF. Now known as a […]

Lake Turkana Festival ‘ante portas’

TURKANA FESTIVAL 2013 ANTE PORTAS One of Kenya’s great cultural festivals, the Lake Turkana Festival, will this year take place in Loiyangalani between the 24th and 26th of May, showcasing the culture and art of 10 communities living near and around the ‘Jade Lake’ as Turkana is often referred to as a result of the […]

KTB asks for half a billion Shillings to start recovery marketing

KENYA TOURISM BOARD ASKS NEW GOVERNMENT FOR AN EXTRA 500 MILLION SHILLINGS Sources in Nairobi have confirmed that KTB is seeking an additional 500 million Kenya Shillings to fund a series of ‘recovery missions’ aimed to restore market confidence, now that the elections are over and a new government will be coming into effect following […]

Kenya Airways adds more Kisumu flights

KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS KISUMU FLIGHTS Kenya Airways has confirmed that they will with immediate effect up their number of weekly flights between Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Kisumu from presently 25 to 34. At the same time was seat capacity increased by operating the larger Embraer 190, from the E170 previously used, making Kisumu […]

Climate change, a clear and present danger to the world’s island nations

AFTER HOTTEST MARCH IN HISTORY WHAT’S NEXT FOR SEYCHELLES AND NEIGHBOURS The month of March was, according to one regular source on the main island of Mahe, the warmest March in known history with two days, 29th and 30th recording the third highest temperature ever recorded by weather stations of the archipelago with 33.7 degrees […]

Torrential rains cause havoc in parts of East Africa

RAINS HIT THE REGION WITH A VENGEANCE Following the devastating rainstorms which lashed Mauritius last Friday are now also reports coming in from across East Africa of loss of property and lives caused by torrential rains. Last week road links to and from Ngorongoro and the Serengeti were cut near Karatu when a river burst […]

Seychelles President James Alix Michel extends condolences to Mauritius

Following reports, posted here too as breaking news, over the weekend of devastating rainstorms causing widespread destruction and loss of live and property on the island of Mauritius has the Seychelles’ President sent a message of condolences and solidarity to the fellow Vanilla Island country. PRESIDENT JAMES ALIX MICHEL EXTENDS MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO MAURITIUS […]

National airline returns to Ugandan skies

UGANDA AIRLINES TO BE REVIVED WITH BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT April 01st 2013 Information was passed to this correspondent overnight that the Ugandan government, reportedly unsettled over the success story made by airlines in neighbouring countries, has decided to revive Uganda Airlines with a big bang, setting aside over a billion US Dollars from anticipated future […]

Torrential rains pound Mauritius among reports of up to 8 dead

TORRENTIAL RAINS CAUSE CHAOS ON MAURITIUS AND CLAIM AT LEAST 8 LIVES Reports coming in from Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius, speak of devastating rains sweeping across the island, causing deaths and widespread destruction, besides being the reason for multiple accidents, some causing serious injuries to drivers and passenger, one of them involving […]

EAWST responds to Born Free Foundation allegations

As promised, after giving BFF the opportunity to voice their issues over the Whale Shark Project at Mombasa’s south coast, here is an initial response by Volker Bassen to counter some of these allegations, with undoubtedly more to follow. Readers can and should make up their mind based on facts and NOT on mere allegations […]

UHOA gets new Executive Director after Sekandi retires from position

UGANDA HOTEL OWNERS ASSOCIATION GETS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Long serving Executive Director of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association, Mr. Ishmael Sekandi, has stepped down and was last Tuesday formally replaced by Mr. Sam Balagadde, introduced to invited guests by the chairman of UHOA, Mr. Ibrahim Muwanga Kibirige, owner of the Hotel Africana in Kampala. Sekandi, […]

ATCNews: 

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome is the founder and publisher of ATCNews, Eastern Africa’s leading aviation, tourism and conservation news blog of its kind. Wolfgang has nearly 50 years of experience in the tourism, aviation and conservation fields in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, covering all aspects of safari-, hotel- and air-operations. 

The Managing Editor of ATCNews is Mrs. Esther C. Goossens.

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