Kenya Airways suspends flights to Juba

December 23, 2013 (NAIROBI/JUBA) – Kenya Airways on Monday said it has suspended all its flights to and from Juba, the South Sudan capital in the wake of the violence that has hit the two-year old nation over the last week.

The airline, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said there would be no flights from 23-31 December, days after it lifted a temporary suspension.

The move, it said, would affect six of its flights to and from Juba.

Kenya Airway’s chief operating officer said they would refund all customers who booked to travel during this period and apologised for any inconvenienced caused.

“Full refund for fully unutilized tickets shall be allowed to passengers who were booked to travel during the above mentioned period”, said Mbuve Ngunze.

Partially utilised tickets shall be refunded less the used portion, he added.

Meanwhile, the airline is expects normal operations to resume by 1 January, 2014.

The airline, which was founded in 1977 after the dissolution of East African Airways, is the flag carrier of Kenya.

South Sudan has, in recent days, witnessed armed violence that rapidly spread to other parts of the country. More than 500 people have reportedly been killed and over 60,000 displaced in the country’s worst violence since a 2005 peace deal, which allowed the country to secede from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)

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