Turkish city, Istanbul, and Oman's Muscat International Airport have emerged as key stop-gap aviation hubs, due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran, which has rattled the traditional transit points in the Middle East, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
A spot check by Business Daily showed that many international travellers are temporarily shifting to Istanbul and Muscat, as alternative connectivity hubs alongside Amsterdam, London and Paris amid the war-linked uncertainty that has affected flight operations through Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Muscat, for example, has since last week, been transformed into a relief transit hub for stranded travellers.
The airport has been accommodating a growing number of emergency and redirected flights after passengers were unable to depart from major regional hubs such as DBX and Abu Dhabi International Airport due to airspace disruptions across parts of the Gulf.
Oman’s national carrier, Oman Air, has stepped in to ease the congestion by operating nearly 80 additional flights over the past week to help stranded travellers reach their destinations.
Kenyan travellers, however, have low connectivity to Istanbul and Muscat, with the flight frequencies from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to these points remaining limited.
Most travellers from and into Kenya have continued to rely heavily on traditional European transit points such as Amsterdam, Paris and London, which handle the bulk of long-haul connections from Nairobi.
“We don’t have strong connectivity with Oman in terms of flights. However, there is a low-cost carrier from Oman that is operating in Kenya, probably three times a week,” Nicanor Sabula, CEO, Kenya Association of Travel Agents, said.
He added that although Istanbul is a busy global transit point, the limited number of flights connecting Kenya to the Turkish city restricts its ability to absorb passenger flows during the disruptions.
“Istanbul is a busy hub, but our hubs remain in Europe. The limitation with Istanbul is that they have one flight. Turkish Airlines has had only one flight, and so far they are operating only a single flight, which means it is not substantially helping us manage the chaos,” Mr Sabula said.
The route between JKIA and Dubai International Airport (DBX) is traditionally busy. Records show that as at this month, there were about 38 direct flights per week from JKIA to DXB, mainly operated by Emirates, Kenya Airways, and flydubai.
Flights through Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha have been disrupted amid the raging war. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates, in an update on March 9, announced the resumption of a limited number of flights through DBX.
Apart from the Middle East hubs, Kenyan travellers and airlines have also heavily relied on European transit points such as Amsterdam, Paris, and London, which handle the bulk of long-haul connections from Nairobi.
For example, there are about 12 direct flights a week between JKIA and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, translating to about two flights daily. Between JKIA and Heathrow, there are about 14 flights a week.
