Wednesday, 19 August, 2009: Kenya Airways will on September 17, 2009 launch direct flights to Ndola – the second largest city in Copper-rich Zambia.

The twice weekly flights will depart from Nairobi every Thursday and Saturday.

Ndola becomes the 36th African destination in the KQ network with recent additions being to Congo-Brazaville and Libreville; launched in March and June this year respectively.

The airline will also launch the Gaborone route on September 4, this year.  

This makes Kenya Airways schedule to the Southern Africa region, a very robust one as it currently operates three daily frequencies into Johannesburg, South Africa and double dailies to Lusaka, Zambia 10 flights a week to Lilongwe, Malawi and Harare, Zimbabwe and three weekly flights to Maputo, Mozambique.

With a population of over 774,000, Ndola is the industrial, commercial, administrative and distribution hub of the Copperbelt, Zambia’s copper-mining region and has one the three internationals airports, others being Livingstone and Lusaka.

Kenya Airways, Managing Director and CEO Titus Naikuni said: “Travellers on this route are expected to benefit greatly from the superb connections that KQ’s network provides to destinations across Africa, the middle and far-East and Europe through its hub at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.”

This new route will also make travel out of Zambia more convenient for the residents and business community of Kitwe and Chingola which are part of Zambia’s rich copper belt and who usually have to travel to Lusaka or Johannesburg to connect to the world.”

Kenya Airways has continued to invest heavily in expanding its network to cater for the growing needs of the African traveller. This route expansion has been accompanied by fleet modernisation and a commitment to safety and growing aviation standards in the continent, Naikuni said.

Kenya Airways operates one of the youngest fleets in sub-Saharan Africa and its 25 aircraft fleet is poised to deliver a superior flying experience and increased cargo capacity.

During the recently concluded International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Kenya Airways was the only African carrier to receive a special award in recognition of its dedication to the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program.

The IOSA was developed to provide focus together with global standards, coordinated approach and firm targets with an aim of raising the bar on aviation safety.

Kenya Airways first received IOSA certification in 2005 and subsequently had the certification renewed in 2007.