There appears to be growing anger directed against the Kenyan aviation regulators, and not just from Tanzania where Fastjet continues to twiddle their thumbs. Fastjet, for several months now, has been waiting to have their application to fly from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi approved, but the decision is being kept “under review” in spite of being designated by the Tanzanian regulators to operate such flights.

Anger is now also in Uganda and Rwanda, when leaked information pointed fingers squarely at the Kenyans for not approving slots for the planned fifth freedom flights by RwandAir between Entebbe and Nairobi.

“These people are playing with fire now. It took a whole head of state directive on December 11 to expose and break down their obstinate resistance to grant traffic rights to RwandAir for flights from Entebbe to Nairobi and on to Juba. It is not just the regulators, they are in league with some of the airlines to keep competition off certain routes. Now they delay again, hoping that in the meantime others of their own airlines can commence flights to the same destinations so that economic success becomes an endangered species. How else does one explain the hasty start of an airline between Nairobi and Entebbe this week? They have not even began to market their flights, imagine, so forgive me if I conclude they work hand in glove to stop any non-5Y [5Y is the registration for Kenyan planes and generally understood to mean Kenya] operators from gaining a stronghold,” let a regular aviation source fly when being contacted about the likely causes for the delayed start of RwandAir.

A source in Nairobi, notably more reluctant to comment, in the end said: “So there may be a small delay about the landing and departure times. This is normal, not out of bad intention. JKIA [Jomo Kenyatta International Airport] is a busy airport, and besides we should not have flights to the same place by different airlines just minutes apart. Existing schedules must be respected and not undermined. Give it a bit of time and it will be resolved,” without being drawn into the launch of flights by a Kenyan airline to Entebbe. Also no response was received about the ongoing delays as to why Fastjet was still not getting approval to launch flights from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, while at the same time a Kenyan airline was trying to add more frequencies on that route beyond what the current Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) permitted.

‘When RwandAir finally launches flights to Nairobi, we shall support them. Those we think responsible for these childish delays will see us. The rise in fares when Air Uganda stopped flying was a very bad thing to do to Ugandans, and when there is a choice, there will be a reaction. After all, they should know all about the phrase that choices have consequences, no? About the new airline, who are they anyway? There is nothing I have seen other than read in your blog they are coming. I have seen no sales activity which really does not impress me about their business strategy,” added a Kampala-based travel agent to the conversation.

No doubt the coming weeks will determine the winners and losers in this latest of many battles fought over the Entebbe to Nairobi route market share, but let us not forget that it was the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority in the first place which, when pulling the Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) of Ugandan-registered carriers for international flights, caused all these upheavals and prompted the rise in fares and lack of seats.