Direct air travel between Brussels and Nairobi resumed on Monday, with at least 50,000 people booking flights following the relaunch. Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, announced the route’s success even before the first flight took off from Zaventem on Monday morning.
“This is a win-win for both countries. It forms a bridge between our cultures and economies,” Minister Lahbib stated.
Brussels Airlines, which originally operated the Nairobi route from 2002 until 2015, discontinued the flights after its acquisition by the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa purchased a 45 percent stake in Brussels Airlines in 2009 and acquired the remaining shares in 2017. Network expansion within the group has been strategically coordinated as relations between the two countries have developed.
The airline suspended its Nairobi operations due to a preference for Lufthansa’s Frankfurt flights, which offered better connections to the US and Europe. However, the resumption will see six weekly flights between Brussels and Nairobi, each lasting approximately eight hours.
Brussels Airlines, recognized as the Lufthansa Group’s Africa specialist with 18 routes served in sub-Saharan Africa, aims to strengthen this position. Last year, Europe accounted for 29 percent of visitor numbers to Kenya, with 572,352 arrivals. In 2023, arrivals from Belgium increased to 13,000, up from 10,000 in 2022.
Dorothea von Boxberg, Brussels Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the significance of sub-Saharan destinations, which make up around 20 percent of the airline’s passengers but generate 40 percent of its revenue.
“Apart from Washington and New York, all our long-haul destinations are in Africa. We want to continue investing in the African continent, primarily by increasing direct flights to existing destinations,” von Boxberg said. She emphasized that the new connection will cater to both tourist and business travel.
The resumption of this route underscores the strategic importance of direct connectivity between Brussels and Nairobi, promoting cultural and economic exchanges between Belgium and Kenya.
