Daily flights to Seychelles by KQ set for February 6

The Kenya Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the JFK International Airport after its maiden non-stop flight to New York, USA. (Courtesy)

Effective February 6, 2019, the national carrier, Kenya Airways will introduce additional flights to the idyllic Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles on a daily basis.

The airline is currently flying to the island archipelago five times per week from Kenya’s Capital city- Nairobi.

This latest development by KQ follows the launch of its Non-Stop flight from Nairobi and New York in October last year.

Information posted on eTN Turbo News, an online hospitality portal said that the anticipated daily flights from Nairobi will undeniably add to the accessibility of Seychelles as a destination and therefore value to the local product.

This new development on the regional aviation scene is perceived in the Tourism industry as a great milestone for the island archipelago of the western Indian Ocean.

The additional flights will be on Wednesdays and Fridays, enabling good connectivity from Europe and West African routes in which currently guests have to layover in Nairobi.

Visitors using Kenya Airways or who choose to fly to the island nation via Kenya will now have more, and shorter options for transits, instead of long waits at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), Mrs. Sherin Francis, welcomed the news with great enthusiasm. She said that the increase in the frequency of flights by the airline is a very interesting development for Seychelles’ tourism.

“The 7-days direct flights would definitely make Seychelles more accessible to a few of our important markets such as the North American market,” said Mrs Francis.

She added that Kenya Airways has been a very steady and reliable partner for Seychelles, and as such, is sure that “with this new development our partnership will become even stronger.”

Kenya Airways has been flying to Seychelles for the past 41 years without any interruption or pulling out, making it the longest serving airline in Seychelles.

The airline’s first flight to Seychelles was on May 7, 1977.

Kenya Airways was established on January 22, 1977 and commenced operations on February 4, 1977, making the Seychelles one of the first destinations it served.