Kenya Airways received a major boost on Friday after it acquired a permit that will enable it to fly directly to the US.
According to an order issued by the Department of Transportation, the permit became effective on September 5.
The Department of Transportation had in June recommended that KQ, as the airline is commonly known, be granted the permit if there were no public objections.
The President of the United States was also given a 61-day window to disapprove the permit, if he so wished. No objection had been given by the time the window expired on September 05.
In February Kenya was granted Category One status as officials from America’s Federal Aviation Administration gave approval for non-stop direct flights between the two countries.
This set the stage for Kenya Airways and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to begin going through the final regulatory hurdles before the take-off of the first flight from Nairobi to the United States.