Kenya and Tanzania have committed to resolving their flight restriction dispute amid protests from citizens of both countries over inconveniences.

January Makamba, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, announced on Monday evening that he had spoken with his Kenyan counterpart, Musalia Mudavadi, and they had agreed to resolve the dispute within the next three days.

"I spoke to my Kenyan colleague @MusaliaMudavadi. We agree that restrictions of air travel between our countries and from any of our country to a third country shouldn’t stand. With relevant authorities, we’ve resolved to settle this issue, per existing agreements, within 3 days," Makamba said in a statement on X.

The statement came moments after Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) announced the suspension of Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

The authority's Director General Hamza S Johari said the move was in retaliation to Kenya's move to block Air Tanzania from operating cargo flights between Nairobi and other countries. 

Johari protested that Kenya's move was against the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two East African countries in 2016.

He indicated that the ban would take effect on Monday, January 22.