There has been a steady increase in new flight routes from the US to East Africa over the past decade, and the trend seems to be continuing, much to our delight. Direct flights from the US to Nairobi on Kenya Airways have now been operating for several years and have proved to be very popular. Ethiopian Airlines continues to operate flights from Washington DC to Addis Ababa, the airline has a very good network connecting to other African countries, including all of East Africa.

Turkish Airlines likewise has an excellent network throughout Africa, including Nairobi and Kilimanjaro, and flies from several US gateways daily. If your layover is lengthy in Istanbul, you can take advantage of their “free tour of the city” offer — or happily eat your way through the amazing food offerings at the Istanbul Airport. More established routes like KLM (with a stop in Amsterdam) to Kilimanjaro, Entebbe and Kigali remain popular. Qatar Airways also offers good rates and reasonable stop-over times (through Doha) to Kilimanjaro International Airport and Nairobi.

Yvette has spent some time gathering the latest details on new routes we can look forward to in 2025 – to get us out on safari, gorilla trekking or beach, in East Africa, more efficiently than ever before.

• As of November 2024, Air France operates three direct flights a week between Paris and Kilimanjaro International Airport. The route is operated in a triangular fashion, departing from Paris to Zanzibar (ZNZ), then continuing to Kilimanjaro and returning to Paris. This is a great option for those of you who like to fly Delta, as they codeshare.
• Since June 2024, Brussels Airlines have been operating flights from Brussels to Nairobi, Kenya four to six times a week. This summer (2025), these will be increased to daily frequencies. Many of our clients like to bookend their safaris with a few days in Europe, so this is a nice opportunity to do so.
• Staring in December 2024 the UAE carrier Etihad airline resumed flights from Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi to Nairobi, Kenya four times a week. Clients living on the West Coast often fly via the Middle East to reach East Africa, and enjoy the great on board service many of these airlines offer.
• We’re cautiously optimistic about upgrades to Arusha Airport that will allow it to start receiving international arrivals as of June 2025. Kenyan airline ALS will be one of the first to fly directly from Nairobi to Arusha Airport (rather than Kilimanjaro) which will save a significant amount of road time in the city, for guests combining Kenya with Tanzania.
• As of 30 March, South Africa‘s Airlink will add three weekly night flights between Johannesburg and Nairobi. The outbound flight will depart Johannesburg at 8:30 PM arriving in Nairobi at 1:30 AM the following day. The return service will leave Nairobi at 2:15 AM, arriving in Johannesburg at 5:25 AM on the same day. This expansion will complement the airline’s existing once-daily daytime service, bringing the total frequency on the route to 10 flights per week.

Now you know how to get there … have a look at our East Africa sample safaris and contact us to create your own personal adventure!

Read More: Surviving the long-haul flight to Africa; Getting mileage out of your miles