Today Brussels Airlines officially started flights to Nairobi with the first flight (SN 481) taking off from Brussels to Jomo Kenyatta Airport. The Belgian national airline plans to connect Nairobi with Brussels up to six times a week. The Kenya Tourism Authority (KTB) predicts that the new link will provide a boost to tourism and boost the Kenyan economy.
With numerous connections from Brussels to all of Europe and the USA, the opening of Brussels Airlines' new route will significantly expand travel options to and from Kenya. According to the KTB, Europe is the second most important source market for tourists in Kenya. Kenya Tourism Authority CEO June Chepkemei highlighted the importance of connectivity for tourism in Kenya and praised the role Brussels Airlines will play in this.
Brussels Airlines, as the Africa expert within the Lufthansa Group, currently has 18 destinations in sub-Saharan Africa on offer. Nairobi is the first tangible result of their ambitious expansion plans. Even before the first flight, 50.000 people have booked tickets to visit Nairobi or fly from Nairobi to Brussels, indicating strong interest and a successful launch.
Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Brussels Airlines, expressed enthusiasm about the great interest from Belgium in discovering Kenya and emphasized the attractiveness of Nairobi as a gateway to Kenya and the world. The opening of the new route was celebrated in Brussels with a gate event attended by Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Brussels Airlines, Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport and Peter Maddens, the Belgian Ambassador to Kenya.
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, highlighted the importance of the new connection for the airport, emphasizing the strengthening of Brussels Airlines' Africa network and the airport's role as an intercontinental hub.
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