The prominent global airline, Emirates Airlines, is looking to expand its reach in one of Africa’s largest markets, Kenya.
- Since 1995, Emirates has operated over 34,000 flights in Kenya, transporting more than 6.6 million passengers and employing numerous Kenyans globally.
- Emirates Airlines aims to expand operations in Kenya, leveraging the Kenya-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
- The CEPA facilitates enhanced trade, investment, and economic relations, boosting export and cargo opportunities.
- Emirates Airlines has made significant contributions to Kenya’s export efforts, including shipments of flowers, produce, and meat.
Emirates, as recently reported, is intent on utilizing the Kenya–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and its budding relationship with Kenyan Airways to increase its footprint in the country.
This detail was highlighted by the country manager of Emirates Airlines, Christophe Leloup.
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He disclosed, at a roundtable in Nairobi to mark Emirates’ 30th anniversary in the East African country, that Kenya and the UAE’s bilateral trade agreement has paved the way for more investment opportunities, cargo flows, and exports.
Through improved air connectivity, the airline, as seen in The Star, said it would assist the initiatives, strengthening the nation’s status as a regional hub for trade and aviation.
“The CEPA is a major milestone between Kenya and the UAE. Both countries are looking to boost trade, business, and tourism over the next five years, and Emirates is playing a central role in facilitating those connections,” the country manager highlighted.
Over 16,000 tons of Kenyan flowers, along with fruits, vegetables, and meat, were shipped to overseas markets by the Dubai-based airline in 2024.
“Emirates is supporting Kenya’s export ambitions by connecting local producers to the world. We see Nairobi not just as a passenger hub, but as a growing cargo gateway into the Middle East, Europe, and Asia,” Christophe Leloup stated.
Additionally, more than 31,000 passengers have flown under the codeshare agreement in the last couple of years, with demand split evenly between Kenya Airways and Emirates.
“The partnership with Kenya Airways is strategic, it allows Emirates to reach destinations in Africa where we don’t operate directly, while giving KQ passengers seamless access to our global network of over 150 destinations,” Leloup noted.
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Since commencing operations in Kenya in October 1995, Emirates has conducted more than 34,000 flights and transported over 6.6 million passengers.
Over 1,100 Kenyans are employed by the airline globally, which includes 40 pilots and 250 cabin workers.
CEPA between the UAE and Kenya
The Kenya–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a landmark bilateral economic deal aimed at deepening trade, investment, and economic cooperation between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement represents one of the UAE’s first major CEPAs with a mainland African country and underscores the Gulf nation’s ambition to expand its non-oil trade and investment footprint across Africa.
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For Kenya, it aligns with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and aims to strengthen the country’s position as a commercial gateway to East and Southern Africa.
The agreement also seeks to boost services and investment. It opens the door for Kenyan businesses in education, transport, communications, construction, and engineering to operate more freely in the UAE market, while encouraging UAE investors to channel more funds into Kenya’s energy, infrastructure, logistics, ICT, and agricultural sectors.
