Published on : Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Kenya Airways will introduce direct flights between Nairobi and Abuja in Nigeria, as it expands its footprint across the continent.
From 3 June 2014, Kenya Airways will begin flying four times a week between its hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Abuja, located in the centre of the country, is a planned city built largely during the 1980s which replaced Lagos as Nigeria’s capital in 1991.
It is the seat of the Federal Government and home to most of Nigeria’s institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Abuja is also the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and the regional headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The new service will help create new opportunities for business, industry and tourism
The airline’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Titus Naikuni, said that the introduction of direct flights to Abuja was an illustration of the airline’s commitment towards supporting the continent’s development by facilitating intra-African trade, tourism and interactions between different regions.
‘This is in line with our long term growth strategy, through which we aim to fly to every African capital by 2016. We are already a premier African airline boasting of the largest network of destinations in the continent,’ Dr Naikuni added.
Africa is a key market for Kenya Airways. Out of the 62 destinations that Kenya Airways currently flies to, over 40 are in Africa.
The continent (excluding Kenya) contributed about 52% of the airline’s revenue, according to its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2013.
The direct flights to Abuja will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays of every week.
On each of these days, Kenya Airways’ flight KQ536 will depart from JKIA at 0750 hours to arrive in Abuja at 1035 hours local time.
The return flight KQ 537 will depart Abuja at 1135 hours, to land in Nairobi at 1820 hours local time.
The introduction of the flights to Abuja follows a review of the Bilateral Service Agreements by the Kenyan and Nigerian governments in 2013.
Tags: abuja, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Kenya Airways, nairobi
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