Airline services in Kenya

Kenya serves as the hub for the East, Central and Indian Ocean areas and offers transit and refueling facilities for North/South and East/ West airline traffic. Our country received a middle ranking in the Africa Competitiveness Report, although its international and domestic air transport infrastructure is the most developed in East Africa and, indeed, amongst the best continent-wide.



The largest and most respected airline service is Kenya Airways(KQ) which was established in January 1977. KQ has been successfully transformed from near collapse in the early 1990s and restored to profitability, efficient management, service delivery as well as direct and indirect linkages with the rest of the economy.

KQ has also made it possible for Nairobi to become the leading transport aviation hub in the region. Today, Nairobi has become a focal point for regional travelers, seeking connection flights to their capitals. The company's efficiency has also significantly reduced the time travelers within Africa spend waiting for connecting flights to other cities on the continent. Indeed, this has truly made KQ the pride of Africa.

British Airways and other light aircraft charter companies offer scheduled flights in the country. Currently, there are over 30 companies providing airline services in Kenya apart from KQ, they also fly to and from J.K.I.A. KQ is still a better choice than the other companies. It announced an after-tax profit of KShs 4.1 billion (about $61.2 million) for the financial year ended March 31, 2007.

On June 2nd 2007, Virgin Atlantic begun flying to and from Kenya on a daily basis with an estimated benefit of 100 million US dollars to the economy over the next twelve months. Virgin Atlantic flights will significantly boost income in the tourism sector and Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic company chief announced that as of 2008, the first Virgin Atlantic flight to use biofuel will take to the skies. He told journalists that a large percentage of the sugar and beet crops from which biofuels are derived can be grown in Africa. This would create opportunities for farmers and help alleviate poverty on the continent.

On Friday, 23rd May 2008, Sir Richard Branson vowed to help our country to get back on track and increase tourist numbers. Speaking in Nairobi he said:"There has never been a better time to visit Kenya than right now! The post election troubles, which were predominantly focused in the non-tourist areas, have now subsided.

Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading long-haul airlines, has also unveiled a new advertising campaign aimed at attracting more tourists back. The campaign which begins on 19th May is being used as an initiative to get passengers back focuses on the migration of the Wildebeest. The campaign will appear on London’s Underground mainline railway stations as well as in the national press.

Other international companies that have scheduled flights include British Airways, Sabena, Swiss, KLM, Emirates, South African and East African Airways. They all fly with partners from all six continents of the world. Ong'ong'a Achieng, managing director of the Tourism Board, said that the introduction of new airfreight companies is welcomed because it encourages competition and the cost of air travel is reduced without compromising quality.