Historic Kenya Airways direct flight to U.S. arrives in New York

Kenya Airways’ inaugural flight to United States has arrived at the John F. Kennedy International Airport after leaving the capital Nairobi on Sunday just before midnight.

KQ002 touched down in New York on Monday. The maiden flight has been christened Magical Kenya.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and some government officials were at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport where a flagging off ceremony was held for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner before it departed.

Touch Down: The eagle has landed…….NewYork New York, if you can make it here you can make it anywhere. Kenya Airways; The Pride of Africa. Kametamba mpaka New York. #NairobiNYCDirect, #KQDirectFlight #MagicalKenya …. Video courtesy pic.twitter.com/b8sNgbXBby

— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) October 29, 2018

Kenya Airways, KQ, got permission to operate direct flights to the US last September, after several failures due to non-compliance at its airports.

Instead of 22 hours, passengers will henceforth cover the 13713km between Nairobi and New York in 15 hours, saving up to seven hours. Of the 234 passengers, 30 were in the business class, while 204 occupied the economy class.

The historic direct flight is expected to help the company recover from a $267 million debt.

Finally, KenyaAirways direct, non-stop flight from Nairobi to New York City has taken off. The plane making the maiden flight is christened Magical Kenya. #MagicalKenya #ComeLivetheMagic #NYC2Nairobi #KQNBONYC #KQDirectFlight pic.twitter.com/6ywR3QaYJm

— Kenya Tourism Board (MagicalKenya) October 28, 2018