‘LAST POINT OF DEPARTURE‘ PERMIT GRANTED BY US AUTHORITIES FOR #KENYA’S MAIN AIRPORT
(Posted 29th September 2018)
With the last regulatory hurdle now out of the way, following the approval of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a ‘Last Point of Departure‘ or in short ‘LPD‘ can the planned flights from Nairobi to New York take off as planned on the 28th of October.
This will make Kenya Airways the fifth African airline to fly to the United States after Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, South African Airways – all three incidentally Star Alliance members – and Royal Air Maroc.
The airline intends to use a Boeing B787 aircraft, supposedly in a new three class configuration with Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
A source in Kigali has also confirmed that RwandAir and the Rwandan aviation authorities continue to work on attaining Category One status from the US Federal Aviation Administration while also processing requirements to meet all US safety and security standards ahead of their planned flights to New York in 2019. RwandAir’s aircraft of choice will be a three class Airbus A330, which aircraft type, when introduced into the WB fleet, was the first in Africa to feature a fully fledged Premium Economy cabin in a 2x3x2 configuration of wider seats, deeper recline and pitch and footrests.
