There are hardly any Fokker 70s left. According to CH-Aviation portal, only 18 civilly operated examples of the model are currently active worldwide.

But, with only less than 20 units of the Fokker 70, in Kenya, an airline is re-fleeting the model.

Earlier this month, i-Fly Air, a privately-owned carrier based in Nairobi received a 80-seater Fokker 70 which is almost 27 years old at Wilson Airport.

The aircraft arrived with the registration number 5B-DDF, which it had carried with the previous operator Tus Airways in Cyprus, but now bares the registration 5Y-IFA.

The aircraft has not been in service since late 2019. From February 2020 to May 2022 it was in Bratislava, Slovakia, then in Woensdrecht, the Netherlands.

I-Fly Air Fokker 70 arriving at Wilson Airport in Nairobi on November 10. Image i-Fly Air

On November 9th and 10th, the Fokker 70 flew from Woensdrecht via Luxembourg and Cairo to Nairobi. The aircraft has not yet started service with i-Fly Air.

i-Fly Air also operates an almost 34-year-old Fokker 50 with the registration number 5Y-IFL which it received in February 2022 and is in active service.

The airline currently operates domestic flights from Nairobi to Wajir and Mandera. According to their website, Mombasa, Kisumu, Malindi, Lamu and Ukunda will also be added.

Fokker 70

If you want to fly a Fokker 70, you don’t have many options.

Dutch manufacturer Fokker produced 47 examples of the shortened sister model of the Fokker 100 during the 1990s.

Currently, Australian Alliance Airlines with eleven Fokker 70 regional jet is the largest operator followed by Air Niugini from Papua New Guinea with three Fokker 70s, as well as Fly All Ways Airlines from Suriname. Jet Air Caribbean from Curaçao and Jetways Airlines and Salaam Air Express from Kenya have one aircraft each. In addition, there are around ten inactive airmen worldwide.

Military service

Away from commercial aviation, the other active Fokker 70s have been used as military aircraft. One of these is the Kenyan Air Force which operates a single example under the registration KAF308.

Kenya Air Force Fokker 70 has served the Kenyan government since entering service in 1995. Image: planespotters.net

It is 26.1 years old, and seats 26 passengers in a VIP configuration and has belonged to Kenya’s government since entering service in 1995.

The other two active Fokker 70s belong to the Myanmar Air Force. Simply registered as 002 and 003, these twinjets are 25.12 and 25.62 years old respectively.

Unlike their Kenyan counterpart, they do not have VIP configurations, and instead each seat 80 passengers like many airline versions did. They entered service with KLM Cityhopper back in 1996.