Ten foreign airlines have applied for licences to operate air cargo services and tour charters in Kenya.

This comes as the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) published a notice in the official Kenya Gazette to ask anyone with objection to the applicants to contact the authority.

The Business Daily of Nairobi said that there are fears that competition on nearly all international routes will intensify if all 10 airline applications are approved though shippers can look forward to lower costs.

Applications for licences have come from Lufthansa, which has applied for international non-scheduled air cargo services on the Frankfurt-Nairobi run and a second licence without traffic rights between Nairobi and Johannesburg, which means that the German carrier will not be allowed to pick up cargo between Nairobi and Johannesburg, currently served by Emirates Sky Cargo via Dubai.

Tanzanian Air Services Limited has also applied for a licence to operate non-scheduled services between Tanzania and Kenya. KCAA has also issued a licence with immediate effect to Sky Relief Kenya Limited, which plans to offer non-scheduled air services for passengers and cargo between Kenya and eastern and central Africa, mainly using Lokichogio and Wilson airports.

Five applicants are vying to operate tour charter services. Local operator Fly 540, the first budget airline in Kenya, has also applied for a licence for non-scheduled air service for freight and passengers within, out of and into Kenya from the rest of the world based at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Moi International Airport, Mombasa. They have also applied for an air cargo services license.