Kuwait Airways doesn't normally have service to West Africa (or much of Sub-Saharan Africa at all). Instead, the airline focuses its attention on various European cities, destinations across the Indian sub-continent, and of course, the Middle East. However, in an effort to repatriate citizens of several West African nations, Kuwait Airways arranged a special flight on May 23rd and transported 334 passengers to the region.
Flight details
The journey was split into three flights:
- KU1511 from Kuwait to Accra (Ghana)
- KU1512 from Accra (Ghana) to Lome (Togo)
- KU1512 from Lome (Togo) to Kuwait
According to FlightRadar24.com, the first flight lasted just under seven hours, while the fifth-freedom journey between Accra and Lome was a mere 30 minutes. Then, from Lome to Kuwait was about six hours and 15 minutes.
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft operating the service, registration 9K-AOC, appears to have spent seven hours on the ground in Accra and just over an hour in Lome. With 334 passengers recorded as departing Kuwait, news site My Joy Online reports that 263 passengers from the flight entered Ghana. This would leave 71 passengers to deplane in Lome.
The site also reports that Ghana's Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah had said that the passengers aboard the flight were deportees found to have been 'illegally residing' in Kuwait. This is likely a result of having overstayed work visas due to Kuwait's lockdown and its closure of government services.
Arrivals in Ghana were reported to have been tested for COVID-19 before entering the country but were still sent into mandatory quarantine as an added precaution.
Kuwait's repatriation efforts
Throughout the months of April and May, Kuwait has been making arrangements for migrant workers (also known as expats) to leave the country. As of last week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation via Kuwait Times reported that 20,000 expats had left the country. Since that number was made public, more flights have taken off, including flights to the countries of Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, and several more.
While Kuwait's coronavirus situation was worsened in recent weeks, there may be some hope that the country has now been through the worst of it. Today was the third consecutive day that daily cases were in decline.
However, it is still far too early to known if this trend will continue as there are many factors (primarily frequency of and access to testing) that can affect numbers.
While the country had initially closed off its airspace to regular commercial flights, restrictions have relaxed somewhat. Now, flights have been arranged to allow expats the ability to leave. A wide range of airlines have been involved with these efforts including:
- Kuwait Airways
- Jazeera Airways
- Lufthansa
- Turkish Airlines
- Emirates
- and Qatar Airways
As a large majority of Kuwait's population is comprised of migrant workers, the pandemic-related lockdowns have resulted in huge levels of unemployment and a subsequent need for repatriation flights.
Are you surprised to hear about Kuwait Airways flying to West Africa? Let us know in the comments.