19 October 2015•Update: 19 October 2015
By Magdalene Mukami
NAIROBI, Kenya
German airline Lufthansa announced on Monday that it will resume flights to Nairobi Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after an 18-year absence.
Lufthansa General Manager for Ethiopia and Kenya Tobias Ernst told the press that the airline will resume flights to Nairobi on Oct. 25.
Ernst said that the airline will operate three direct flights weekly on the Frankfurt-Nairobi route using an Airbus A340.
“We shall be operating three flights to Kenya on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Kenya is an economic powerhouse in East Africa and we are keen to bring tourists into the Kenyan market,” Tobias Ernest said.
Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa told Anadolu Agency on Monday that the return of the direct flights from Germany will boost Kenya’s tourism industry.
“The comeback of German airline Lufthansa will really boost the tourism industry in Kenya; Germans have always been one of our key markets, “ Ndegwa told AA.
“This is also expected to boost business as the return of the flight will make it easier for Kenyans and Germans to do business together; we really appreciate the decision by Lufthansa as it comes when Kenya’s tourism industry is still recovering.”
The news comes a few months after Brussels Airlines announced that it will be halting its flights to Nairobi as of Oct. 24.
The number of tourists in Kenya has in the past two years dropped sharply after repeated terror attacks by the Somali group Al Shabab militia crippled the industry which contributes 11 percent of Kenya's GDP.
