Brussels Airlines resumes direct flights between Brussels and Nairobi
A direct flight between Brussels and the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, took off from Zaventem Airport on Monday. Almost 10 years after it was scrapped, Brussels Airlines has resumed this route.
The airline is targeting both leisure and business travellers. Tourists are increasingly finding their way to Kenya, and as Nairobi is home to the UN headquarters in Africa, diplomatic and business travel is also important.
"With the exception of Washington and New York, all our long-haul destinations are in Africa," said Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Brussels Airlines. "We want to remain committed to the African continent in the future, especially by offering more direct flights to existing destinations."
Federal Foreign minister Hadja Lahbib also stressed the importance of the new direct flight. "It is a win-win situation for both countries," Lahbib said. "This flight is a bridge between our two cultures and economies".
Focus on Africa
Nairobi is Brussels Airlines' eighteenth destination in sub-Saharan Africa. It offers six flights a week during the summer, including two 'triangular' flights via Kigali in Rwanda, and four flights a week during the winter.
Travel to sub-Saharan Africa accounts for some 20 per cent of all passengers carried by Brussels Airlines and represents 40 per cent of the airline's total revenue.
© BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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