Following a 28-year suspension, Air France confirmed it will resume regular operations to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

The first flight is scheduled for November 18th on the Paris Charles de Gaulle – Zanzibar – Kilimanjaro – Paris Charles de Gaulle route. According to its website, the airline will offer three weekly services with Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which are configured for 324 passengers in three seating classes.

Monday, Wednesday and Saturday

• AF 874  Paris CDG 10:10 · 21:10 ZNZ Zanzibar
• AF 874  Zanzibar ZNZ 22:55 · 23:55 JRO Kilimanjaro
• AF 874  Kilimanjaro JRO 01:25+1 · 08:50+1 CDG Paris

Kilimanjaro will be Air France’s third destination in Tanzania.

Etihad Airways launched its first Warner Bros. World livery

The airline announced its new agreement with Warner Bros. World, which represents the largest theme park collaboration to date. Furthermore, this partnership includes a special Etihad livery, featured on a brand new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (A6-BMA).

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “Building on the strong reputation we have built as a family-friendly airline, we’re thrilled to take our partnership with Warner Bros. World to the next level. Our Looney Tunes and DC Super Hero themed aircraft will take our brands to destinations worldwide promoting one of Abu Dhabi’s many attractions. We look forward to welcoming more and more visitors inspired to visit our home, Abu Dhabi, and in particular delighting our Little VIP guests while they journey with us.”

This is the first-ever Warner Bros. World-branded aircraft.

We review other highlights of the Africa/Middle East market in July:

• Air Arabia and Air Arabia Maroc add flights to Europe.

• Air Cairo began services between El Dabaa and Almaty.

• Air Côte d’Ivoire took delivery of its 11th aircraft.

• Akasa Air incorporated new connections to the Middle East from India.

• Arkia schedules some flights on the Tel Aviv – Manchester route.

• Cabo Verde Airlines returns to Barcelona.

• easyJet to fly between Portugal and Cape Verde.

• Edelweiss will expand its destination network in this market.

• Emirates postpones the first scheduled flight of its Airbus A350.

• Ethiopian increases frequencies to Bamako and Dakar.

• Flynas to start two new connections in September.

• ITA will operate services to Dubai.

• Kenya Airways with more flights between Nairobi and New York.

• PIA will have two new routes to Jeddah from Pakistan.

• Qatar Airways commenced its sixth daily frequency to Colombo (Sri Lanka).

• Safair will add a new domestic route.

• SAUDIA boosts frequencies between Jeddah and Manchester.

• Tunisair and Uganda Airlines open international routes in Africa.

Air Arabia

After a four-year hiatus, Air Arabia plans to return to Vienna.

Flights will be operated from December 20th, four times per week.

Monday and Friday

• G9 970  Sharjah SHJ 08:00 · 11:25 VIE Vienna
• G9 971  Vienna VIE 12:10 · 20:50 SHJ Sharjah

Wednesday and Saturday

• G9 970  Sharjah SHJ 18:00 · 21:25 VIE Vienna
• G9 971  Vienna VIE 22:20 · 07:00+1 SHJ Sharjah

Athens, Baku, Istanbul (IST), Krakow, Milan Bergamo, Sarajevo, Tbilisi and Yerevan are its destinations in Europe from/to Sharjah.

Air Arabia Maroc

Regarding Air Arabia Maroc, effective October 27th, the airline intends to expand its routes to Europe from Morocco, with the start of flights between Tetouan and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

The company will fly Airbus A320-200s, under the following schedule:

Thursday/Sunday

• 3O 817  Tetouan TTU 16:30/15:15 · 19:15/18:00 CDG Paris
• 3O 818  Paris CDG 20:05/18:50 · 22:45/21:30 TTU Tetouan

Considering its subsidiaries, Air Arabia Group has 77 aircraft in its fleet.

Air Cairo

Almaty, Air Cairo’s new destination from El Dabaa as of July 23rd.

The operations will have a weekly frequency between the two cities on Airbus A320-200 airplanes, with a capacity of 180 passengers in single class.

Tuesday

• SM 887  El Dabaa DBB 01:05 · 09:05 ALA Almaty
• SM 888  Almaty ALA 10:15 · 15:05 DBB El Dabaa

Air Cairo is the only operator on this route.

Air Côte d’Ivoire

A new Air Cote d’Ivoire Airbus A319 arrived in Abidjan, its hub, last July 11th. The aircraft, registered TU-TRJ, becomes the fourth A319 in the fleet, and the second to be added this year.

This Airbus A319 is 8 years old. Its last operator was Avianca, between October 2016 and November 2023, remaining inactive until then.

Fleet

• Airbus A319-100: 4 (TU-TRF, TU-TRJ, TU-TSY, TU-TSZ)
• Airbus A320-200: 2 (TU-TSV, TU-TSW)
• Airbus A320neo: 1 (TU-TSX)
• Dash 8: 4 (TU-TSI, TU-TSK, TU-TSL, TU-TSQ)

Air France

We review Air France’s important route network in Africa, to/from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly, (mainly CDG):

Angola

• CDG – PNR – Luanda (LAD) – PNR – CDG: 3 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Benin

• CDG – Cotonou (COO) – CDG: 7 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Cameroon

• CDG – Douala (DLA) – CDG: 4 weekly · Airbus A330-200
• CDG – SSG – Douala (DLA) – CDG: 3 weekly · Airbus A330-200 
• CDG – Yaounde (NSI) – CDG: 5 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Central African Republic/Cameroon

• CDG – Bangui (BGF) – NSI – CDG: 2 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Chad/Nigeria

• CDG – N’Djamena (NDJ) – Abuja (ABV) – CDG: 4 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Congo

• CDG – Pointe Noire (PNR) – CDG: 3 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Congo/Democratic Republic of the Congo

• CDG – Brazzaville (BZV) – Kinshasa (FIH) – CDG: 4 weekly · Airbus A350-900

Democratic Republic of the Congo/Congo

• CDG – Kinshasa (FIH) – Brazzaville (BZV) – CDG: 3 weekly · Airbus A350-900

Djibouti

• CDG – Djibouti (JIB) – CDG: 1 weekly · Boeing 777-200(ER)

Egypt

• CDG – Cairo (CAI) – CDG: 7 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Equatorial Guinea

• CDG – Malabo (SSG) – DLA – CDG: 3 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Gabon

• CDG – Libreville (LBV) – CDG: 7 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Ghana

• CDG – Accra (ACC) – CDG: 3 weekly · Boeing 777-200(ER)

Guinea

• CDG – Conakry (CKY) – CDG: 3 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• CDG – NKC – Conakry (CKY) – NKC – CDG: 4 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Ivory Coast

• CDG – Abidjan (ABJ) – CDG: 14 weekly · A359/77W

Kenya

• CDG – Nairobi (NBO) – CDG: 7 weekly · Boeing 777-200(ER)

Madagascar

• CDG – Antananarivo (TNR) – CDG: 7 weekly · Airbus A350-900

Mauritius

• CDG – Port Louis (MRU) – CDG: 5 weekly · Airbus A350-900

Mauritania

• CDG – Nouakchott (NKC) – CDG: 4 weekly · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Morocco

• CDG – Agadir (AGA) – CDG: 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• CDG – Casablanca (CMN) – CDG: 22 weekly · A319/A320/A321/738
• CDG – Marrakesh (RAK) – CDG: 14 weekly · A319/A320
• CDG – Rabat (RBA) – CDG: 20 weekly · A320/A321
• CDG – Tangier (TNG) – CDG: 4 weekly · A320/A321

Nigeria

• CDG – Lagos (LOS) – CDG: 7 weekly · Airbus A350-900

Reunion

• CDG – Saint-Denis (RUN) – CDG: 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)
• ORY – Saint-Denis (RUN) – ORY: 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)

South Africa

• CDG – Johannesburg (JNB) – CDG: 7 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)

Senegal

• CDG – Dakar (DSS) – CDG: 9 weekly · Boeing 777-300(ER)

Tanzania

• CDG – Zanzibar (ZNZ) – Dar-es-Salaam (DAR) – CDG: 3 weekly · Boeing 787-9
• CDG – Zanzibar (ZNZ) – Kilimanjaro (JRO) – CDG: 3 weekly · effective November 18th

Togo

• CDG – Lome (LFW) – CDG: 5 weekly · Airbus A330-200

Tunisia

• CDG – Tunis (TUN) – CDG: 34 weekly · A319/A320/A321

Akasa Air

New Akasa Air routes in the Middle East.

The Indian low cost carrier began operations to Jeddah and Abu Dhabi from Ahmedabad and Mumbai, respectively. In both cases, Akasa Air will fly using Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, with the following frequencies:

• Mumbai (BOM) – Abu Dhabi (AUH): 7 weekly · first flight was on July 11th
• Ahmedabad (AMD) – Jeddah (JED): 2 weekly · first flight was on July 20th

Arkia

The Israeli company is scheduled to start flights between Tel Aviv and Manchester beginning October 14th. According to the Arkia Israeli Airlines website, the airline will offer, until October 25th, two services a week.

Monday and Friday

• IZ 931  Tel Aviv TLV 04:50 · 08:15 MAN Manchester
• IZ 932  Manchester MAN 09:45 · 16:50 TLV Tel Aviv

Currently, London is the only destination from/to Tel Aviv in the United Kingdom:

• British Airways (LHR-LCA-TLV-LHR): 7 weekly · Airbus A321neo
• El Al (TLV-LHR-TLV): 14 weekly · 739/777/787
• El Al (TLV-LTN-TLV): 11 weekly · 738/739
• Wizz Air UK (LTN-TLV-LTN): 6 weekly · Airbus A321neo

Cabo Verde Airlines

On July 30th at 09:37 local time, Cabo Verde Airlines’ first flight to Barcelona departed from Espargos. The carrier will offer weekly service on Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Tuesday

• VR 620  Espargos SID 09:00 · 16:40 BCN Barcelona
• VR 621  Barcelona BCN 17:50 · 20:10 SID Espargos

Barcelona becomes Cabo Verde Airlines’ third destination in Europe, after Lisbon and Paris CDG.

With respect to the domestic sector, the airline has these connections between the islands of Cape Verde:

Espargos

• Boa Vista (BVC): 3 weekly · ATR 72 (15 minutes flight)
• Praia (RAI): 10 weekly · ATR 72 (30 minutes flight)
• São Nicolau (SNE): 2 weekly · ATR 72 (25 minutes flight)
• São Vicente (VXE): 10 weekly · ATR 72 (40 minutes flight)

Praia

• Boa Vista (BVC): 4 weekly · ATR 72 (25 minutes flight)
• Maio (MMO): 2 weekly · ATR 72 (10 minutes flight)
• São Filipe (SFL): 12 weekly · ATR 72 (20 minutes flight)
• São Vicente (VXE): 20 weekly · ATR 72 (45 minutes flight)

Canadian Airways Congo

The Congolese airline, based in Brazzaville, incorporated a 32-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-82, which had been operating with European Air Charter, a Bulgarian company.

Last July 11th, the MD-82, registered TN-AJW, landed in Brazzaville from Sofia via Cairo. As can be seen through our database, the aircraft has not yet entered service, and remains at BZV.

Fleet

• Boeing 737-200: 1 (TN-AIX)
• McDonnell Douglas MD-82: 2 (TN-AJL and TN-AJW)
• McDonnell Douglas MD-83: 1 (TN-AJT)

easyJet

Starting in October, easyJet will expand its network of destinations in Africa, with the launch of flights to Cape Verde.

The ultra low cost, in accordance with its website, will offer services from Portugal to Espargos with Airbus A320-200 planes.

• Lisbon (LIS): 4 weekly · October 29th
• Porto (OPO): 3 weekly · October 30th

Edelweiss

The airline will commence, as of November, new routes to Africa and the Middle East.

Giza, Salalah and Tunis will be its new additions, to be operated from Zurich under the following schedule:

November 2nd · Giza (Airbus A320)

Wednesday

• WK 126  Zurich ZRH 09:45 · 14:40 SPX Giza
• WK 127  Giza SPX 15:40 · 18:45 ZRH Zurich

Saturday

• WK 126  Zurich ZRH 22:45 · 03:40+1 SPX Giza
• WK 127  Giza SPX 05:10 · 08:15 ZRH Zurich (Sunday)

December 19th · Tunis (Airbus A320)

Thursday/Sunday

• WK 124  Zurich ZRH 06:05/17:35 · 08:10/19:40 TUN Tunis
• WK 125  Tunis TUN 09:00/20:30 · 11:00/22:30 ZRH Zurich

February 25th, 2025 · Muscat and Salalah (Airbus A340)

Tuesday

• WK 44  Zurich ZRH 11:50 · 21:15 MCT Muscat
• WK 44  Muscat MCT 22:45 · 00:20 SLL Salalah
• WK 44  Salalah SLL 01:30 · 06:20 ZRH Zurich

Friday

• WK 44  Zurich ZRH 22:30 · 07:55+1 MCT Muscat
• WK 44  Muscat MCT 09:25+1 · 11:00+1 SLL Salalah
• WK 44  Salalah SLL 12:10+1 · 17:00+1 ZRH Zurich

Emirates

The first regular flight of its Airbus A350-900 has been postponed.

As we had announced in previous reports, the first operation was scheduled from Dubai to Bahrain on September 15th. Following a new network update, the airline confirmed the inaugural flight of the A350s will now take place on November 4th, and will enter service with its new route to Edinburgh, at the time of publication.

Current schedule, according to its website:

• Edinburgh (EDI): November 4th
• Bahrain (BAH): November 15th
• Kuwait City (KWI): November 15th
• Ahmedabad (AMD): January 1st, 2025
• Mumbai (BOM): January 1st, 2025
• Colombo (CMB): January 2nd, 2025
• Lyon (LYS): March 1st, 2025
• Muscat (MCT): March 1st, 2025

Ethiopian Airlines

Effective October 27th, the company plans to increase its services on the Addis Ababa – Bamako – Dakar route, which it currently operates with a daily frequency by Boeing 777-200(LR) and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In line with its website, Ethiopian will reach 13 flights per week.

Current schedule

Daily

• ET 909  Addis Ababa ADD 10:40 · 14:10 BKO Bamako
• ET 909  Bamako BKO 15:40 · 17:40 DSS Dakar

• ET 908  Dakar DSS 08:00 · 10:00 BKO Bamako
• ET 908  Bamako BKO 11:00 · 21:00 ADD Addis Ababa

Schedule as of October 27th

Daily

• ET 909  Addis Ababa ADD 10:40 · 14:40 BKO Bamako
• ET 909  Bamako BKO 15:40 · 17:40 DSS Dakar

• ET 908  Dakar DSS 18:40 · 20:40 BKO Bamako
• ET 908  Bamako BKO 21:40 · 07:40+1 ADD Addis Ababa

Daily except Thursday (new flight)

• ET 907  Addis Ababa ADD 00:10 · 04:10 BKO Bamako
• ET 907  Bamako BKO 05:10 · 07:10 DSS Dakar

• ET 906  Dakar DSS 08:20 · 10:20 BKO Bamako
• ET 906  Bamako BKO 11:20 · 21:20 ADD Addis Ababa

Etihad

Etihad Airways will operate twelve weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Moscow Sheremetyevo from October 27th. The carrier will offer these operations on 280-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes.

Daily except Friday

• EY 841  Abu Dhabi AUH 03:05 · 08:05 SVO Moscow
• EY 842  Moscow SVO 12:10 · 18:55 AUH Abu Dhabi

Daily except Tuesday

• EY 843  Abu Dhabi AUH 14:50 · 19:45 SVO Moscow
• EY 844  Moscow SVO 23:25 · 06:05+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

At present, Etihad has a daily flight on this route (EY 65/66).

flynas

Bahrain and Doha, new flynas connections to/from Medina.

flynas will conduct its services using Airbus A320-200 aircraft, as follows:

• Bahrain (BAH): 3 weekly · September 10th

Gulf Air currently performs one daily frequency on this route with Airbus A321neo.

• Doha (DOH): 2 weekly · September 12th

Qatar Airways has 17 weekly services on Boeing 737 MAX 8 and Boeing 777-300(ER) aircraft.

IndiGo

The airline keeps increasing its network from Abu Dhabi, with the launch of three new connections.

IndiGo will operate by 180-passenger Airbus A320neo jets.

• Bengaluru (BLR): 6 weekly · August 1st
• Mangalore (IXE): 7 weekly · August 9th
• Tiruchirappalli (TRZ): 4 weekly · August 11th

Kenya Airways

On July 8th, Kenya Airways boosted its flight frequency between Nairobi and New York JFK, expanding from nine to ten services a week.

Daily

• KQ 2  Nairobi NBO 23:35 · 07:35+1 JFK New York
• KQ 3  New York JFK 13:45 · 10:45+1 NBO Nairobi

Monday, Thursday and Saturday

• KQ 4  Nairobi NBO 08:35/08:45 · 16:35/16:45 JFK New York
• KQ 5  New York JFK 19:50/20:00 · 16:50/17:00+1 NBO Nairobi

New flight on Mondays.

New York is Kenya Airways’ only destination in the Americas. Its main network is within Africa, in addition to offering three connections to Europe and Asia, and one to the Middle East.

Nile Air

The company will begin a new connection to Saudi Arabia from Cairo in mid-August.

Nile Air will fly the Cairo – Arar route using the 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft, with this schedule:

Tuesday and Saturday

• NP 123  Cairo CAI 19:15 · 21:00 RAE Arar
• NP 124  Arar RAE 21:55 · 23:50 CAI Cairo

Nile Air routes between Cairo and Saudi Arabia

• Abha (AHB): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
• Al-Qassim (ELQ): 9 weekly · A320/A321
• Dammam (DMM): 6 weekly · A320/A321
• Ha’il (HAS): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Jeddah (JED): 8 weekly · A320/A321
• Jizan (GIZ): 3 weekly · Airbus A320
• Najran (EAM): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Qaisumah (AQI): 2 weekly · Airbus A320
• Riyadh (RUH): 8 weekly · A320/A321
• Sakaka (AJF): 5 weekly · Airbus A320
• Tabuk (TUU): 6 weekly · A320/A321
• Taif (TIF): 7 weekly · A320/A321

Pakistan International Airlines

Two new routes will join PIA’s regular network from/to Jeddah.

The airline will reach eight connections in the Saudi city with the start of Faisalabad and Quetta, which will be served by Airbus A320-200s configured for 174 passengers.

Faisalabad · August 2nd

Wednesday/Friday

• PK 764  Jeddah JED 03:05 · 10:10 LYP Faisalabad
• PK 763  Faisalabad LYP 18:35/17:50 · 21:45/21:00 JED Jeddah

Quetta · August 6th

Tuesday/Sunday

• PK 768  Jeddah JED 03:05 · 09:30 UET Quetta
• PK 767  Quetta UET 19:15/18:30 · 21:45/21:00 JED Jeddah

Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot are its other destinations.

Qatar Airways

Effective July 10th, Qatar began its sixth frequency between Doha and Colombo, Sri Lanka, consolidating its leading position in this market.

The airline operates, according to our database, with Airbus A320-200, Airbus A330-200, Airbus A330-300, Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, offering 1,600 daily seats on both legs.

Daily (new frequency schedule)

• QR 656  Doha DOH 07:20 · 14:55 CMB Colombo (daily except Wednesday)
• QR 656  Doha DOH 10:30 · 18:05 CMB Colombo (Wednesday)
• QR 657  Colombo CMB 21:15 · 23:45 DOH Doha

Other frequencies

• QR 654/655: daily · Airbus A330-200
• QR 658/659: daily · Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300
• QR 660/661: daily · Airbus A330-200
• QR 662/663: daily · Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
• QR 664/665: daily · Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300

In addition to Qatar Airways, SriLankan Airlines has one flight per day on this route, which is served by Airbus A320 and Airbus A330.

Safair

FlySafair will commence services between Johannesburg and Nelspruit on August 2nd. This new domestic route will have two weekly flights with Boeing 737-800s seating 189 passengers in single class.

Friday and Sunday

• FA 672  Johannesburg JNB 11:45 · 12:40 MQP Nelspruit
• FA 673  Nelspruit MQP 13:15 · 14:10 JNB Johannesburg

Currently, both cities have 39 operations a week, all of them by Airlink on Embraer 135 aircraft. Safair will reach its second destination in Nelspruit, after Cape Town.

SAUDIA

During September, Saudi International Airlines plans more flights to Manchester. It will be on a limited schedule, as the carrier will have a daily frequency from Jeddah between September 11th and the 25th.

Daily (new flight on Wednesdays)

• SV 123  Jeddah JED 08:15 · 12:55 MAN Manchester
• SV 124  Manchester MAN 14:50 · 23:20 JED Jeddah

London (Gatwick and Heathrow) and Manchester are its destinations in the UK.

Smartwings

The company will resume services between Vienna and Espargos from December 20th for winter 2024/25. Smartwings will perform one flight per week with Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Friday

• QS 4416  Vienna VIE 07:30 · 12:40 SID Espargos
• QS 4417  Espargos SID 13:30 · 22:00 VIE Vienna

This route had been operated by the airline between December 22nd, 2023 and May 10th, as can be seen through our database.

Tunisair

Douala and Libreville, new Tunisair connections.

In accordance to its website, the services will be combined, and will have three weekly frequencies on Airbus A320neo starting December 14th.

Monday and Wednesday

• TU 381  Tunis TUN 15:50 · 21:10 DLA Douala
• TU 381  Douala DLA 22:00 · 23:00 LBV Libreville
• TU 381  Libreville LBV 23:50 · 05:30+1 TUN Tunis

Saturday

• TU 381  Tunis TUN 15:50 · 21:30 LBV Libreville
• TU 381  Libreville LBV 22:20 · 23:20 DLA Douala
• TU 381  Douala DLA 00:10+1 · 05:30+1 TUN Tunis

It will be the only operator from Tunisia to Gabon and Cameroon.

Uganda Airlines

On September, Uganda Airlines will add two new routes to/from Entebbe (EBB), the airline’s hub in the country.

The operations will be carried out with Airbus A330-800neo and CRJ-900 airplanes of 261 and 76 seats, respectively:

• EBB – Lagos (LOS) – Abuja (ABV) – EBB: 2 weekly · September 12th (A330neo)
• EBB – Lusaka (LUN) – Harare (HRE) – EBB: 2 weekly · September 25th (CRJ-900)
• EBB – Harare (HRE) – Lusaka (LUN) – EBB: 2 weekly · September 26th (CRJ-900)

Royal Jordanian was the only airline in this market to receive a new aircraft from the factory during July.

The plane, an Embraer E190-E2 with registration JY-RED, departed on June 28th from São José dos Campos, where Embraer’s factory in Brazil is located.

São José dos Campos – Recife was the first leg, followed by Recife – Gran Canaria on July 1st, and the final segment to Amman took place on July 3rd.

A few hours after its arrival in Jordan, the aircraft entered service on flight RJ 5131 between Amman and Athens.

Other reports we have published:

• United States and Canada
• Latin America
• Europe
• Asia and Oceania
• ANA spreads its wings in Europe
• Lufthansa sending the A380 to Washington
• Holidaymaker express: Delta starting London-Orlando flights

Cover photo: Photorikoo – JetPhotos (Paris Charles de Gaulle, France).