KENYA AIRWAYS TO FLY THREE TIMES WEEKLY TO BLANTYRE

Starting from 02 August 2013, Kenya Airways will operate direct flights three times a week between its Nairobi hub and Blantyre in Malawi.

The airline will fly non-stop between the two cities on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On each of these days, it will depart from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi at 11:45 hours on an Embraer E190 Jet, arriving in Blantyre at 13:25 hours. The return flight will leave Blantyre at 14:15 hours on the same day and arrive back in Nairobi at 18:00 hours.

The introduction of the service between Malawi and Nairobi follows the recent granting of approvals by the Government of Malawi for the airline to begin operations into the city.

Kenya Airways’ Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Titus Naikuni, said that the flights are timed to connect to those departing to and arriving from key markets such as Europe, Far East and Middle East.

“These flights will contribute towards opening up the Southern Africa region to the rest of the world, through Nairobi by facilitating travel to and from various destinations across the world,” Dr Naikuni stated, adding that the E190 aircraft that will fly the route offers excellent cabin experience with an in-flight on demand video entertainment for each passenger on both business and economy classes.

Blantyre becomes the second Malawian city that Kenya Airways flies to. The airline also flies to Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital and its largest city.

In April, the Government of the Republic of Malawi granted approval for Kenya Airways to operate flights into Blantyre, besides agreeing to resumption of the 5th Freedom Traffic Rights on the Lilongwe-Lusaka sector. The granting of the 5th Freedom Traffic Rights on this route allows Kenya Airways to pick up passengers in Lusaka and drop them in Lilongwe and vice versa.The approval of the 5th Freedom Traffic Rights follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Kenyan and Malawian governments in 2008 and allows collaborative arrangements between designated carriers of both countries for their mutual benefit.