The company had stopped operations on the route in May 2014, citing fears of Al Shabaab terror attacks in some of the key cites in the country.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Friday received the Small Planet Charter Airline, operated by TUI Travel Poland which landed at the Moi International Airport Mombasa with 186 tourists on board.
“This is the first summer charter that has come into Mombasa. Poland always sends their charters during winter time. We have been negotiating with TUI since January and even in March a delegation came here in Mombasa. So it’s not about the Charter coming into Mombasa, but TUI is back,” Balala noted.
The company is expected to bring in up 2,200 tourists from Poland, depicting optimism that the recovery of the sector especially in the coast region is on the right path.
The move comes after the government introduced incentives for chattered flights where all planes with passengers terminating at Moi International Airport (Mombasa) and Malindi Airport will be exempted from landing fees.
The Charter incentives of up to Sh1.2 billion introduced in January 2016 is expected to last up to June 2018.