Air France to resume Nairobi flights after 18 years

French national carrier, Air France, will soon resume flights between Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi after an 18-year absence. Air France served Nairobi until March 2000.

Air France, a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, announced the decision on Tuesday (25 July).

 “Air France in summer 2018 season plans to resume service to Kenya, as the Skyteam member schedules Paris CDG — Nairobi operation. From 25 March 2018, Boeing 787-9 aircraft will operate this route three times a week. Reservation for this route opened late last week,” the company said in a press statement.

Several major global airlines have been resuming flights into Kenya in recent years, signalling rising travel demand on routes connecting the Kenyan capital to global cities.

They include German Lufthansa Airline which two years ago resumed direct passenger flight service to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, ending 18 years of absence. India’s national carrier, Air India, has also announced plans to resume its flights to Nairobi later this year, seven years after it withdrew from the route.

Last week, Dutch-based charter airline TUI Netherlands said it is set to resume operations to Mombasa in November, three years after it suspended the service due to insecurity.

Air France-KLM Group is one of the largest airlines in the world in terms of operating revenues, passenger numbers and kilometres. Although owned by a single company, Air France and KLM continued to fly under their own brand names.

Zachary Ochieng


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