Africa

For all travelers going to Africa and especially Kenya and Tanzania avoid delays on arrival at their airports, do not bring single-use plastic bags.

Effective 1st June 2019: All passengers arriving at any Kenya & Tanzania airports, can possibly face very heavy fines for using plastic bags in any way, shape or form. Using, manufacture or importation of plastic bags, including garbage bags and shopping bags is illegal. Offenders, including tourists, could face very heavy fines.

Visitors/Citizens and Residents alike are advised to avoid packing any plastic bags in their suitcases or in carry-on hand luggage before flying to Kenya & Tanzania. Items purchased at the airport before boarding the aircraft should be removed from plastic bags. Please check hand luggage before disembarking at entry points and any plastic bags should be left in the plane.

Similarly, the transparent “zip-lock” plastic bags that some airlines require passengers to use for keeping liquids, cosmetics, toiletries, etc separately in hand luggage are also not permitted to be brought and should be removed and left on the plane before disembarking.”

African countries who already have or will have a total or partial ban on single-use plastics are: Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.