Kenyans stranded in UK get second KQ evacuation flight
Kenya High Commission in London has arranged a second flight to evacuate Kenyans stranded in the United Kingdom owing to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The commission headed by Manoah Esipisu has asked Kenyans in the UK to register with the mission before Friday to book a slot in the Kenya Airways chartered flight.
In a statement, the UK mission said the KQ flight was arranged through the Kenyan and UK governments for a flight set to depart to Nairobi from Heathrow Airport on Friday.
“The flight has been loaded on the Kenya Airways booking system and is available for sale on a first-come-first-served basis,” the statement read in part.
Second London to Nairobi flight for stranded Kenyans planned for May 15 @ForeignOfficeKE @JaneMarriottFCO @MEsipisu https://t.co/lJnlk0KyWu
— Kenya in UK (@KenyaMissionUK) May 12, 2020
The government however said they will be evacuated from UK at their own cost.
They must, however, prepare to undergo mandatory a 14-28 day quarantine on arrival at JKIA as part of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“All Kenyans arriving in the country will be quarantined as required by the Government of Kenya, Ministry of Health guidelines. Passengers will bear the costs of quarantine,” the statement added.
The statement by the Kenyan mission in UK comes as a surprise as the government had announced that it had waived quarantine fees for those to be tested.
Last week the government said those arriving from abroad will be quarantined in public facilities for free.
On Wednesday, the government said it would bear the cost of targeted testing and quarantine even those arriving from abroad.
Some of the Kenyans caught up in the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, China and India started arriving home last week.
Some 84 citizens landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport aboard a Kenya Airways plane from London on Monday night.
The travellers, who had selected their quarantine centres before starting their journey, presented their coronavirus clearance certificates at the airport.
On Tuesday, the government announced that so far they had evacuated about 700 citizens and were expecting more Kenyans to trickle in.