Kenya Airways and Sports Ministry sign official travel partnership agreement

September 12, 2017: The flag carrier Kenya Airways and the Ministry of Sports have entered into a one-year renewable partnership that will see the national carrier become the official airline for all Kenyan teams travelling outside the country. The partnership was signed at the ministry headquarters.

Principle Secretary Peter Kaberia said, “In the long run, the partnership will help the ministry and sports federations save on costs as well as boost better travel planning. Kenya for a long time has had all these federations going out and we have not had an opportunity to have an official carrier. It is a great milestone for us and the members of the federations are excited. We will no longer wait until the last minute to make ticket bookings because we will have the entire schedule with Kenya Airways."

According to the news paper reports, the Harambee Starlets Under-20 team will be the first beneficiaries of the partnership as they will be flying out to Addis Ababa on September 15, 2017 for a World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia. The national men and women's hockey teams will be next on line as they travel to Egypt next month for World Cup qualifiers.

Kenya Airways Regional General Manager, Grant Onyango, added, “They were pleased with the signing of the year-long agreement, also pointing out they will give the best possible rates. We are proud to partner with the ministry to fly all Kenyan teams to their destinations. They won't also have to be worried about destinations we don't fly to because we are a member of sky team and have a very good network to cover all their travels."

The move is set to save federations the hustle and bustle of procuring tickets and also increase accountability especially after the happenings last year prior to the Rio Olympics.