► CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Kenya Airways suspends Bangui flights 'til early May likely due to political situation.

Kenya Airways (KQ) has suspended its flights to the Central African Republic, effective immediately. CH-Aviation reports that the Kenyan national carrier had previously operated a 3x weekly flight to Bangui with an onward sector to Douala, Cameroon. Flights have been tipped to resume in early July, though this date is still speculative.

The suspension is likely a consequence of the ongoing political instability in the region which has seen two uprisings in the last 4 months. The first, which ultimately led Air France (AF) to suspend its operations to Bangui, resulted in a truce, only for that truce to be broken in late March, leading to the overthrow of then president, François Bozizé.

Should Kenya Airways suspend flights to Bangui permanently, it would join fellow regional competitors Ethiopian Airlines (ET) who axed the route in November citing "poor loads".