Kenya aviation news – Lack of second runway at JKIA sees operations halted for repairs and maintenance
RUNWAY REPAIRS DELAY FLIGHTS IN AND OUT OF JKIA The stark reality of past failures to look and plan ahead in good time has once again come home to roost for the Kenya Airports Authority and all the airlines operating from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last night, when due to urgent repairs and maintenance of […]
Kenya tourism news – Western Kenya gets greater exposure
LAKE VICTORIA TOURISM ASSOCIATION PRESENTS NEW CONCEPTS (Rusinga Island Camp on Lake Victoria, tranquil and serene pictures courtesy of www.rusinga.com) A new tourism masterplan for Western Kenya has been unveiled earlier in the week in Nairobi, aimed at first showcasing the regions attractions and then bringing visitors, Kenyans and wagenis alike to this hitherto under […]
Mauritius conservation news – Marine park sees restocking project go underway
MARINE PARK RESTOCKED WITH FISH Over 25.000 young fish were released at the Blue Bay Marine Park earlier in the week as part of the Mauritian governments efforts to restore biodiversity and restock areas in lagoons and bays with insufficient fish numbers. This particular location is due to ultimately see up to 100.000 young fish […]
Rwanda conservation and tourism news – Lake Kivu islands to be surveyed to determine future use
LAKE KIVU ISLANDS SURVEY MAY HOLD KEY TO FUTURE CONSERVATION USE (Lake Kivu, as seen from the Bumba Base Camp along the Congo Nile Trail with Napoleon Island in the centre dominating the view ) Several dozen of the scenic islands, which dot Lake Kivu in Rwandan waters, will be surveyed in coming months to […]
Mauritius tourism update – Winning big at the World Tourism Awards in Qatar
MAURITIUS REAPS BIG AT WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS CEREMONY IN DOHA Mauritius tourism stakeholders will be pleased with the outcome of the World Travel Award Ceremony earlier in the week in Qatar, when the country scooped several major awards, against stiff competition from amongst others their fellow Vanilla Island competitors. The Trou Aux Biches, operated by […]
AFRAA launches joint fuel purchasing scheme with 9 African airlines participating
AFRAA LAUNCHES JOINT FUEL PURCHASING PROJECT Nine member airlines of the African Airline Association in Nairobi will be joining hands under a project devised by AFRAA in an effort to seek lowering their fuel cost in the future. Kenya Airways will jointly with Ethiopian Airlines, Precision Air, RwandAir, Air Malawi, Air Namibia, TAAG of Angola, […]
Uganda news update – Tourism Minister officially gets Kanyeihamba report, halts action till court cases resolved
TOURISM MINISTRY FINALLY GETS KANYEIHAMBA REPORT After four months of waiting has the Ministry of Tourism finally received the Kanyeihamba report, giving the findings of the commission of enquiry which has over the past year significantly impacted on the running of the Uganda Wildlife Authority and affected other related bodies too. The Minister for Tourism, […]
Uganda news – Electricity tariffs set to rise between 36 and 69 percent
ELECTRICITY TARIFFS UP BETWEEN 36 AND 69 PERCENT Ugandans woke up to the stark reality of electricity tariffs rising sharply, after government negated on their contract with the people and shelved power subsidies, forcing the Electricity Regulatory Authority to approve an immediate rise in tariffs. The delay of the Bujagali power plant going on line, […]
Uganda aviation news – Aeroclub turns 15, lines up big celebration with aerial display show
KAMPALA AERO CLUB TURNS 15 The Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, based at the Kajjansi Airfield and Ugandas leading domestic charter airline, is turning 15 years, after 1 ½ decades of accident free operations across East Africa. Founded by Captains Jeremy McKelvie and Russell Barnes in 1997, KAFTC has grown in leaps and […]
Mauritius aviation news – Airport company awaits acquisition consent from land owners
AIRPORT AUTHORITY SEEKS TO ACQUIRE LAND FOR EXPANSION The Airports of Mauritius company is reportedly engaged in negotiations with nearby residents to acquire their land, needed to optimize security and operational safety. From information received from the island over 20 families have received offers of compensation to give up their land and resettle somewhere else, […]
La Reunion aviation news – Air Austral to drop Sydney and Bangkok, adds flights via Seychelles
AIR AUSTRAL SCHEDULE AND DESTINATION CHANGES A source from Mauritius has passed information overnight that Air Austral, the home airline of the French Indian Ocean territory, is set to make some significant changes to their schedules and destinations, following the return of a B777-200 to the lessor recently. The airline will end flights to both […]
Seychelles news update – DMC’s sign Memorandum of Understanding with China
SEYCHELLES DMCS SIGN MOU WITH CHINA (Picture courtesy of STB) It was reported overnight that the 6 leading destination management companies in the Seychelles, Masons Travel, Creole Travel Services, 7 Degrees South, Elite Travel Club, Select Seychelles and Vision Voyages have yesterday signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding with China in a meeting organized by […]
Seychelles news – 2012 arrivals up by 11 percent to 194.753 visitors
SEYCHELLES NEW ARRIVAL RECORD FIGURES 11 PERCENT UP Data availed overnight show an impressive 11 percent arrival growth for the Seychelles in 2012, making it the second record breaking year in a row after 2010. 194.753 visitors had arrived across the year, more than twice the number of people actually living on the archipelagos islands. […]
Uganda aviation news – Qatar Airways to offer two new destinations from February onwards
QATAR AIRWAYS EXPANDS NETWORK The office of Qatar Airways in Kampala has announced that from early February the airline will fly to two additional destinations, Tbilisi in Georgia and Baku in Azerbaijan. This will in particular aid the inflow to East Africa of tourists from there, but also for the purpose of trade and investments, […]
Uganda conservation breaking news – Rhino baby born at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary a few hours ago, mother and baby are well
NEW RHINO BABY EARLY IN THE NEW YEAR AT ZIWA News just came in that Bella, one of the mature female rhinos at the Rhino Fund Uganda’s rhino sanctuary at Ziwa, has given birth last night. While it is too early to determine the sex of the little one these particulars are expected to become […]
Rwanda breaking news – French magistrate’s report clears President Kagame and the RPF
RWANDA SHINES AS LIES FINALLY PUT TO REST Rwandans will be celebrating today as the contents of a long awaited judicial report, conducted in France by independent magistrates, are becoming public today. The main issue, after a clearly biased, probably unduly influenced and now completely disgraced Brugiere had accused the Rwanda Patriotic Front in general […]
Seychelles aviation news – Air Seychelles downsizing continues with 20 percent redundancies
AIR SEYCHELLES TRANSFORMATION BUTTERFLY OR MOTH With the last European service of HM now withdrawn, January 10th having been the watershed day for Air Seychelles, the downsizing, management would probably prefer the word rightsizing of Air Seychelles continues. Besides the domestic services to a number of islands, where operations continue as usual and without problems, […]
Promoting travel to Africa – Post ITB ‘Spotlight on Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands’ workshops by Houston Marketing
POST ITB WORKSHOPS ON OFFER AGAIN BY HOUSTON MARKETING Following the March 07 11 ITB in Berlin / Germany will Derek Houston once again embark across Europe for his annual roadshow on Africa, this year covering Amsterdam, Prague and Warsow, the latter two aimed to further penetrate a fast growing market from countries in the […]
Mauritius aviation news – Shanghai nonstop from end March it is
AIR MAURITIUS TO GO NONSTOP TO SHANGHAI It was confirmed overnight from a source in Port Louis / Mauritius that national carrier Air Mauritius, come end March this year, will begin a nonstop service to Shanghai, cutting out the present stopover in Kuala Lumpur. When the news of the inaugural flight were brought here, it […]
Uganda aviation and travel news – Emirates starts flights to Dublin, courting the Irish community
EMIRATES NOW COURTS THE IRISH While St. Patricks Day is a long way off, Emirates marketing team will undoubtedly already scheme how to paint the sky in green ahead of that event, now that the airline has commenced flights to Dublin. The daily A330 service will connect Africa, Eastern Europe, India, Asia and the Pacific […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, Second edition January 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 Get daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or read the daily postings on my blog via: www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com Many of these articles […]
Rwanda aviation news – Bugesera project advances to tender document stage
11 COMPANIES EXPECTED TO TENDER FOR BUGESERA AIRPORT PROJECT After selecting 11 companies, out of the 33 which had filed their expression of interest documents with the Rwandan authorities last year, those still in the running will be able to enter the next round of the elaborate bidding process later this week, when relevant documents […]
African conservation news – Malaysia nabs half a ton of blood ivory
MALAYSIA CONFISCATES MORE BLOOD IVORY Reports came in overnight that Malaysian customs authorities have yesterday confiscated another half ton of blood ivory during a routine inspection of a cargo container, notably this time destined for Malaysia and not in transit to China as was the case with the previous seizures. Last year was producing record […]
Seychelles tourism news – Long service awards for STB and STA staff
STB AND STA AWARD LONG SERVING STAFF 51 staff of the Seychelles Tourism Board and the Seychelles Tourism Academy were last weekend recognized for their dedicated and committed long service to the industry in various capacities over the years. Having served between 10 years, the threshold for being called up to the podium, and 39 […]
Seychelles news – Windpower contract awarded, work to commence soon
WINDPOWER CONTRACT AWARDED It was learned that last week were firm contracts signed for the construction of initially up to 8 wind turbines on Mahe, which when operational will produce a further 6 MW of power. Under the Seychelles long term plan does the use of renewable energy sources rank high and in conjunction with […]
Tanzania conservation news – TAWIRI needs funding to fulfill presidential directive on anti poaching and conservation
NO CAN DO SAYS TAWIRI President Jakaya Kikwetes directive to TAWIRI, to strengthen anti poaching measures and devise ways and means to protect crucially endangered wildlife, which followed the recent submission of a devastating report on game numbers in the Selous Game Reserve and other parks, may not be quite as swiftly implemented as one […]
Seychelles tourism news – Count down to the ‘Carnaval International de Victoria’ continues
ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE VICTORIA CARNIVAL FESTIVAL Some may see this as a classic misnomer, as of course it is the air lanes which connect the Seychelles with the outside world, but nevertheless, like when in ancient times all roads led to Rome, the attention of the global carnival communities will focus on the […]
Uganda news update – BBC and RFI rebroadcasts taken off air
LOCAL BBC AND RADIO FRANCE RE-BROADCASTS TAKEN OFF AIR It is understood that officers of the Uganda Police over the weekend ordered the immediate disconnection of the BBCs local FM broadcasts, with Radio France International also affected as the CID investigates a series of allegations over corruption at state broadcaster UBC in connections with the […]
Tanzania conservation news – Transport Minister Nundu denies new railway will cross Serengeti
NEW RAILWAY TO AVOID SERENGETI? Stung by the swift onset of international outrage, when plans became known of a possible railway routing across the Serengeti, aimed to connect Musoma at Lake Victoria with a planned new Indian Ocean port at Mwambani, where the Coelacanth marine national park is located, has the Tanzanian government rushed to […]
Uganda aviation news – Emirates now offers Ugandans connections to South America
EMIRATES ADDS BUENOS AIRES AND RIO KICKS OFF DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL WITH FIREWORKS Emirates added Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro to their expanding route network as was mentioned to this correspondent during the week from a regular source at the airlines offices in Kampala. We are now offering connections to the two most important […]
