Brussels Airlines Inaugurates Direct Flights to Nairobi

By:Anne Nyambura

On Tuesday June 4 2024, Brussels Airlines officially launched flights to Nairobi. The inaugural flight from Nairobi to Brussels landed at Jomo Kenyatta Airport on June 3.

The Belgian national airline will connect Nairobi to Brussels up to six times per week. According to the Kenyan Tourism Board (KTB), the new route will generate extra tourism business and boost Kenya’s economy.

With many connections beyond Brussels throughout Europe and the United States of America, travel options to and from Kenya are significantly expanding thanks to the new route of Brussels Airlines. In the other direction, Europe is the second highest source market contributing to 29 percent of market share into Kenya, recording 572,352 arrivals last year.

“Connectivity is our key enabler in tourism arrivals into Kenya and we believe that Brussels Airlines will be a major boost towards this front.” June Cepkemei, CEO, Kenyan Tourism Board.

Brussels Airlines is the Africa expert within Lufthansa Group, with currently 18 destinations is sub-Saharan Africa. And the airline has ambitious growth plans, with Nairobi (Kenya) as first tangible result of this expansion.

Since the flights went on sale, 50.000 people already booked their ticket to visit Nairobi or to fly from Nairobi to Brussels, making this route already a success before the first flight took off.

“We see a very high interest in our home market Belgium to explore Kenya. Our first flights to Nairobi are completely full. Nairobi is a vibrant city and the perfect gateway for an unforgettable trip to Kenya. The other way around we offer connections to Europe and beyond via Brussels to let Kenyans explore the world, study, or grow their businesses.” said Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO, Brussels Airlines