Following the departure just over a year ago from the Bahrain – Nairobi route, Gulf Air has now put in motion their final exit from Kenya, as they will be leaving the IATA BSP scheme (Billing and Settlement Plan), the clearest indication yet that they may not return to East Africa in the short or medium term.
After launching flights to Entebbe with much fanfare, those cancelled at short notice as part of a major cost-cutting exercise by the airline which was deep in the red at the time, were concentrating on their core destinations in the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, and to Europe where they continued to make money, to a large part as a result of excellent service levels.
With other and arguably financially stronger Gulf airlines now dominating the routes into East Africa, Qatar Airways, Emirates, to a growing extent Etihad, Air Arabia to Nairobi, and of late even flydubai which launched six destinations in the region in the space of just six weeks at the end of last year, it is now clear that Gulf Air will not likely find the resources and the traffic to successfully return to the region.
For many who in the past flew with Gulf Air, this will very likely be the final good bye to them, leaving Bahrain as the only Gulf country without nonstop connections to the Eastern African region.
