Air France resumes flights to Kilimanjaro after nearly three decades

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Air France resumes flights to Kilimanjaro after nearly three decades

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James Pearson Route Development Journalist | Simple Flying

By Sky Industry News

Jul 16, 2024

Air France is set to resume flights to Kilimanjaro in November, marking its return to the Tanzanian destination after nearly three decades. The airline last served Kilimanjaro in 1996 and will now operate a three-weekly Airbus A350-900 service, which will also include Zanzibar on its route.

The resumption of this service holds significance for two primary reasons. Firstly, it makes Tanzania the only sub-Saharan nation with three Air France destinations. Secondly, despite Tanzania not being a Francophone country, Air France has seen substantial growth there recently.

An anonymous airline network planner and Africa specialist attributed this aggressive expansion to an increase in safari and beach tourism from Western Europe. "Air France has become so aggressive in Tanzania recently. It's because of the massive surge in safari and beach tourism not only from its home market of France but also across Western Europe in particular," they said.

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In 2023, an estimated 260,000 roundtrip passengers traveled between France and Tanzania. Paris accounted for approximately 205,000 of these passengers. Breaking down the numbers further: 143,000 people traveled to or from Zanzibar, 51,000 to Kilimanjaro, and 11,000 to Dar es Salaam.

The new service is expected to stimulate additional traffic by up to 40%, potentially increasing annual passenger volume on the Paris-Kilimanjaro route to around 71,000.

The appeal of Tanzania as a tourist destination is bolstered by promotional efforts from its Ministry of Tourism and a convenient visa-on-arrival policy for European travelers. "Tanzania's Ministry of Tourism social media team has been ultra-aggressive in promoting the country and the island [Zanzibar] to Europeans," noted the specialist.

With Air France’s addition of Kilimanjaro flights this winter season, it aims to capitalize on significant demand from various European markets via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). In totality with other destinations such as Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, combined passenger figures reached approximately 920,000 last year.

The move is part of a broader strategy by the Air France-KLM Group to expand its presence in East Africa alongside KLM's long-standing services to Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro. This expansion may impact market shares currently held by Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, and Turkish Airlines between Europe and Tanzania.

As competition intensifies with Lufthansa Group planning further East African expansions through ITA Airways starting in 2025, industry observers anticipate more strategic moves within this region.