Kenya Airways to Launch Delhi-Nairobi Flight From May 16

African carrier Kenya Airways will launch direct flights from New Delhi to Nairobi from May 16, 2012. New Delhi is the second city in India that the airline will be flying to, the first being Mumbai.

Kenya Airways will deploy a Boeing 767-300 on the route and will operate flights four times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays).

Speaking about India’s importance for increasing tourism to Kenya, Jennifer Opondo, Head-Marketing, Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), said, “India has become the primary source market for Kenya in the Asia region with 58,986 Indian arrivals from January–December 2011. India ranks fifth amongst the largest tourism source markets for Kenya. Arrivals are mainly from Western India including Gujarat and Mumbai, followed by the north (Delhi) and the rest of India. The airline’s new flight to India will offer easy connectivity to both leisure and business tourists.”

Elaborating on Indian tourist trends, Opondo noted that there is a notable shift in Indian tourism traffic, with an increasing number of leisure and business tourists from the traditional VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) traffic. “We anticipate a consistent 10 to 15 per cent increase in Indian arrivals for the coming years,” she added.