KENYA: Emirates Has Not Canceled Flights Between Nairobi And Dubai, General Miguna Miguna Forced On Board

General Miguna Miguna
Emirates Airlines on Thursday denied claims of flight cancellations attributed to a lawyer representing deported lawyer and politician Miguna Miguna.

The airline maintained its flights between Nairobi and Dubai were on schedule contrary to the allegations posted on lawyer Nelson Havi's official Twitter page.

Emirates’ flights between Nairobi and Dubai continue to operate as scheduled, said the airline.

Dr Miguna on Thursday morning deported to Dubai aboard a EK722 Emirates flight following his detention at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) since his arrival on Monday at 2.30 pm.

In sworn suit documents, Dr Miguna’s lawyers claimed the self-proclaimed National Resistance Movement (NRM) general had been held incommunicado in a toilet at Terminal 2 at the airport and that his Canadian passport had been withheld.

Self-declared 'general' of National Resistance Movement (NRM) Miguna Miguna has confirmed his lawyers' claims that he was drugged before being deported to Dubai on Wednesday night.

In his first Facebook post on arrival in Dubai, the lawyer on Thursday morning said he very sick and needs urgent medical attention.

“I was dragged, assaulted, drugged and forcefully flown to Dubai,” he posted.

“I woke up in Dubai and the despots are here insisting that I must travel on to London.”

He added, “I’m sick. My ribs and body is hurting all over. This is a travesty of justice! I need medical treatment. I need urgent help here.”

Dr Miguna accused an officer he only identified as Mr Njihia for threatening him and remained adamant that he would not leave the airport.

I want to take a flight only to Nairobi. Nowhere else!

Lawyer Cliff Ombeta, who represented Dr Miguna, on Wednesday night claimed that his client was sedated, handcuffed and taken away.

The airport was on police lockdown on Wednesday night, with police in full combat gear attacking journalists and lawyers who attempted to access Dr Miguna.

The lawyers had gone to the airport to serve court orders directing his release when they were roughed up.

Some sources claimed the exit Dr Miguna, the self-declared ‘general’ of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), a wing of the Nasa that was formed to champion resistance against products of firms deemed friendly and financiers of Jubilee government, was facilitated by Canada.

Canada was very strict on flying rules which General Miguna Miguna obeyed.

The lawyer holds Canadian citizenship and has denied government claims that he acquired it after ceasing to be a Kenyan in 1998.

Dr Miguna, who ran for Nairobi governorship in Kenya's August 8, 2017 General Election and has two homes, one in the capital and the other in Nyando, Kisumu County, insists he is a Kenyan by birth.

Lawyer and National Super Alliance (Nasa) activist Miguna Miguna landed in Dubai and refused to leave the international airport.

The self-declared general of National Resistance Movement (NRM) was kicked out of Kenya on Wednesday evening in breach of three High Court orders.

In a video recording posted by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, who appeared to have boarded the same flight with the fiery lawyer, Dr Miguna is seen arguing with a security officer telling him to kill him if he wants.

Do whatever you want to do, kill me if you want, I don’t fear death…so do whatever you want, Dr Miguna is heard saying while seated at the airport’s arrival bay with his luggage.

The airport officer is heard offering a wheel chair to ferry Dr Miguna to the security office.

I don’t want. You don’t respect human rights, Dr Miguna is heard shouting the officer down.

The self-declared general of National Resistance Movement (NRM) is seen trying to make some calls as the security officer pleads with him.

So far, there has been no official statement on the second deportation from the government.

Dr Miguna's social media accounts earlier indicated he was being held in a toilet at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's Terminal 2.

Through his Facebook account, Mr Kuria claimed to have landed together with Dr Miguna in Dubai.

This morning at Dubai International Airport I bid farewell to the leader of the breakaway Eastern Suburbs of Toronto, NRM General Miguna Miguna, who completed a successful 4-day state visit to Kenya, posted the MP, a staunch supporter of Jubilee and President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Aboard Flight EK 722. I can positively confirm that we have all nationalities on this flight, including a very bald headed Canadian.


Tourism Observer

KENYA: More Airlines To Fly Tourists To Coast

New airlines set to bring tourists to Coast A number of airlines from Arab states have shown interest in flying to Mombasa, tourism officials have revealed.

Heritage Group of Hotels CEO Mohamed Hersi said yesterday that already, low-cost carrier Fly Dubai has received a licence to start flights to Mombasa. “This news cannot have come at a more opportune time than this when Kenyan tourism is in the recovery phase.
We hope to see traffic loads from the potential rich Gulf region with flights operated by Fly Dubai,” Mr Hersi said.

He was addressing a tourism consultative forum organised by Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC), Coast branch, at the Voyager Beach Resort and Spa.

Hersi said other airlines that could begin flying to Mombasa included award winning Emirates Airlines whose top managers were in Mombasa recently at the invitation of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, and Air Arabia. “We will not sit pretty but will continue lobbying for more scheduled flights to touch down in Mombasa as we seek to grow our tourism numbers,” said Hersi, who is also the chairman of Kenya Coast Tourist Association.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia Announces Tourism Campaign At Arabian Travel Market

Tourism Malaysia’s deputy director general (International Promotion) Azizan Noordin officially launched a new advertising campaign for the West Asian market during a press conference held in conjunction with the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

The new advertising campaign targets the West Asia, Iran, and North and South African markets in a series of print, broadcast, and online advertisements. It will focus on themes that appeal to travellers from these markets, such as shopping, luxury holidays, eco adventure, family fun, and honeymoon.

Besides that, Noordin also introduced Malaysia’s latest shopping icon Miss SHOPhia (pronounced Sho’ fi’ ah). She is the country’s shopping ambassador and retail queen, who keeps her followers up-to-date with the latest bargains, new fashion, food outlets, and shopping events on her blog. She is their ultimate shopping buddy and gives them the best advice on fashion, trends, the latest gadgets, etc. Miss SHOPhia will also take on cameo roles in viral videos and TV commercials to promote shopping in Malaysia.

The new campaign is in line with Tourism Malaysia’s effort to boost arrivals from the West Asian market. Last year, Malaysia received 316,209 tourists from West Asia, signifying a drop of 10.7 per cent compared to 353,955 arrivals in 2014.

Noordin is leading 124 Malaysian sellers from 77 organisations to promote Malaysia’s extensive tourism offerings at this year’s ATM, which marks the 23rd year of the country’s participation in this prestigious event. It is a testament to its commitment to make Malaysia a top-of-mind destination for travellers from the West Asian market.

The Malaysian delegation is comprised of a good mix of hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, and representatives from state tourism boards. During the four-day event, they will be highlighting their respective tourism products and services that cater specially for the Middle Eastern market.

Noordin will also take the opportunity to meet up with the top management of West Asian airlines, namely Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Oman Air, besides having several interviews with the local media.

Besides having sales missions/road shows to various parts of West Asia and participating in major tourism events like ATM, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia also lends support to efforts that will help boost arrivals from West Asia, such as the concert of award-winning Lebanese superstar Nancy Ajram in Kuala Lumpur, which will be held on July 30 and 31, 9 pm, at Merdeka Hall, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

RUSSIA: Russia’s Rostov-on-Don Airport Reopens After Deadly Crash

The airport in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don reopened March 21, just over two days after a passenger jet from budget airline FlyDubai crashed there on landing, killing all 62 people on board.

The Boeing 737, which was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, exploded into a fireball after missing the runway on a second landing attempt in heavy wind and rain.

“The airport is now fully functional,” an airport representative said.

Regional authorities said March 20 that workers had finished clearing the runway of debris, which investigators said had been scattered up to 1.5 kilometers from the crash site.

Outbound flights resumed at around 0630 GMT on March 21, but incoming flights to the city of one million were still either cancelled or delayed.

Investigators have launched a criminal probe into whether poor weather, a pilot error or a technical fault were behind the crash, which killed all 55 passengers and seven crew members on board.

The plane’s two black boxes were recovered from the crash site but were “badly damaged,” Russia’s intergovernmental aviation committee said, warning that their analysis would take time.

Experts from the state-owned budget airline FlyDubai, a sister firm of Emirates Airlines, and the United Arab Emirates authorities are assisting with the probe, Russian investigators said.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia Airlines And Emirates Airlines Sign Agreement To Expand Codeshare Partnership

Malaysia Airlines and Emirates has announced a new partnership that will give their customers a seamless international network connecting Malaysia to more than 90 destinations on the Emirates network across Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas, exclusive frequent flyer benefits and world-class travel experiences.

Under the agreement signed by Emirates’ President Sir Tim Clark and Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller, Malaysia Airlines will add its code on flights of Emirates to Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. In return, Emirates will add its code on flights of Malaysia Airlines to domestic routes in Malaysia, South East Asia and selective cities across the Asia Pacific region.

The codeshare will be implemented progressively throughout 2016 subject to regulatory approvals. With the Emirates partnership, Malaysia Airlines’ customers will have access to 38 European, 15 Americas and 38 destinations in the Middle East and Africa and Indian Ocean, whilst Emirates’ customers will have access to Malaysia Airlines’ extensive Asia Pacific network with up to 300 daily departures in the region. Sales under this codeshare agreement will commence from February 1 2016.

Malaysia Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer Christoph Mueller said: “The strategic partnership paves the path towards an integrated customer proposition offering for both airlines. The improved connectivity will enable Malaysia Airlines customers to reach up to 38 destinations in Europe on a daily and even double daily basis for key European cities such as Zurich, Rome, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, and Barcelona.

This partnership gives our customers access to a dramatically expanded range of travel options. It is a great way for customers to travel seamlessly to major cities across the world. Furthermore, Dubai is a tourism, trade and logistics hub which has earned itself the reputation as being the gateway between the East and the West.

Not only will this provide Malaysians unprecedented super-connectivity to the whole world, it will also make it much easier for travellers from all corners of the globe to visit Malaysia and experience its rich culture, nature and Malaysian hospitality. This is part of the national carrier’s initiative towards enhancing air connectivity with key priority markets overseas for increased tourist arrivals into Malaysia.”

“Our new codeshare agreement with Malaysia Airlines will enable our passengers to experience new destinations and improved connectivity in the ever-popular Southeast Asia region, and also additional comforts such as reciprocal lounge access and priority check-in,” said Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates.”

“Malaysia Airlines’ extensive network in the emerging Southeast Asia region perfectly complements Emirates’ global network and enhances the choice of travel destinations for customers in both the business and leisure segment.”

UAE: Al Maktoum Airport Works Preparation Work For Emirates' Move

Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport will begin the preparations next year for Emirates Airlines to move operations there in about a decade, an airport official said on Wednesday.

"By next year, we will do a lot of preparations," Khalifa Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, Dubai South told reporters when asked about construction at the new airport that would allow Emirates Airlines to move its hub.

The passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International, Dubai South was launched in October 2013. But only four airlines have started flights from the new airport, with most opting to stay at the busy Dubai International, clustering around Emirates and where existing traffic is.

Emirates, the world's fourth largest airline by scheduled international passengers, meanwhile is facing capacity constraints at Dubai International despite runway upgrades last year to increase efficiency.

President Tim Clark last year said Emirates would take up vacated space at Terminal 1 as the new Concourse D is launched.

Dubai Airports officials said construction of the concourse has just finished and the testing phase will now be launched.

Initially planned for summer 2015, Concourse D from Terminal 1 may be ready in the first quarter of 2016 and be able to handle operations of about a 100 airlines.

"People want to be there (Dubai International) because they can make connections and everyone is there," Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports said on why airlines are reluctant to move to the new Al Maktoum International airport.

"Now those capacity opportunities are becoming more difficult to satisfy. So people will have to look at different airports."

Emirates airlines in the coming years will take deliveries of the orders it has placed in 2013 for 150 Boeing 777x and topped up its A380 jumbo jets order of 90 with another 50.

"Emirates obviously needs to maintain the integrity of its hub and it can't move until it's got sufficient capacity to move its entire hub," Griffiths said. "That will have to be in phase 2 (of Al Maktoum International), which we're projecting will be in the middle of the next decade."

TANZANIA: Etihad Airways Lands In Tanzania

ETIHAD Airbus A320 aircraft receives a ceremonial water cannon salute as it taxis at Terminal II of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday after it launched daily flights to Tanzania

ETIHAD Airways, the Abu Dhabi-registered airline, launched its daily flights to Tanzania on Tuesday, adding to the list a growing of Middle East carriers eyeing Tanzanian and African airspace.

The airline touched down at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday and received a ceremonial water cannon salute. It will be operating daily nonstop flights connecting the business city of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Dar es Salaam.

The daily flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft and set to attract more passengers from Tanzania and its neighbouring states. Etihad Airways joins the list of a growing number of Middle East registered airlines lobbying East African skies.

Dar es Salaam will be Etihad Airways’ 110th destination globally and its 11th destination in Africa and the Indian Ocean, reports from the airline’s head office in Abu Dhabi said. The flights will be connecting the Tanzanian capital with 45 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, North and Southern Asia and Australia through daily flights, the Etihad report said.

Taking advantage of the fast-growing air connection between East Africa and the Middle East, Tanzania is lobbying tourists and travel trade investments from the Gulf States and the rest of the Arab World.

A team of tourist business stakeholders and marketing officials from Tanzania visited Dubai and other Middle East states last year, looking for potential tourists and investors in tourism from the Gulf States and invited them to invest in Tanzania’s fast-growing tourist industry, taking advantage of the Middle East airlines new routes.

Tanzania Tourist Board had launched marketing campaigns to attract visitors from the Gulf States through these airlines. Hotel and accommodations, hunting and camping safaris are areas of tourist investment and the Tanzania Tourist Board is looking to market them in the Gulf States.

Although the number of Arab tourists to East Africa is not as big as the European and American holidaymakers, there has been a notable number of hunting tourists from the Middle East to Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. About 15,000 tourists from the Gulf visit East Africa every year.

Although small in numbers, East African nations are taking advantage of the Middle East-registered airlines to be a lifeline for Arab-speaking holidaymakers. Airlines registered in Middle Eastern states that are flying to Tanzania include Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Turkish Airlines and Fly Dubai, which are the most competitive over Tanzania’s airspace.

Middle East-registered airlines have taken over the Tanzanian airspace from the traditional European-based airlines which had pulled out their flights between key European cities and Dar es Salaam.

Among European carriers that pulled their flights out of Tanzania are SAS (Scandinavian), Sabena, Air France, Lufthansa, Aeroflot (Russia), Alitalia and British Airways.