Kenya Airways Alters Flight Schedules

The changes, which will take effect from April 1, 2015, have been made in order to close the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s runway for repairs for six hours daily between midnight and 6 p.m.

Kenya Airways has opted to ratchet up its flight frequencies to a number of its destinations, particularly in Africa to attract more passengers.

In a push to grow the leisure market and boost local tourism, KQ's flights to Malindi will be doubled to 14 per week while the frequency of its flights to Mombasa will increase from 56 to 63 every week.

This comes amid a renewed travel advisory by the United Kingdom to its nationals to avoid travelling to key coastal tourist resorts.

Regionally, Kenya Airways has also introduced daily night flights to Lusaka, Zambia and Lilongwe in Malawi in addition to the existing day flights.

AFRICAN BOUND FLIGHTS

Flights to Harare, Zimbabwe will go up from the current 14 flights to 21 per week.

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, will now be served by the Boeing 787 dreamliner to accommodate more passengers and cargo.

In West Africa, as part of its Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with the governments of Ghana and Liberia, Kenya Airways will operate a flight between Accra and Monrovia without having to fly through Nairobi.

The flights will operate as the airline awaits clearance by the ministry of health to resume flights between Nairobi and Monrovia suspended last year following the Ebola outbreak.

Kenya Airways will now fly to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates 11 times a week up from the current 7.

Flights to Mumbai, India will increase from the current one a day to twice daily with the day flight being on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Announcing the changes, Kenya Airways’ Group Managing Director Mbuvi Ngunze said the airline will improve connectivity for its passengers by at least 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, KQ's inaugural flight on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Hanoi in Vietnam began on Monday with KQ scheduled to fly to Hanoi thrice a week, via Guangzhou, china.