Etihad Airways have commenced passenger flights to Kenyan capital Nairobi from Abu Dhabi.

The UAE carrier announced today that its inaugural flight touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.

CEO Etihad Airways James Hogan hinted on the strategiv importance of the Nairobi route and its pertinence to the airline’s growth in the continent.

The twice-a-day, two-class A320 service is Etihad’s first to East Africa.  Hogan explained that the one of the key drivers for traffic into Africa is Chinese investment, which is “generating passenger demand in both directions”.

Etihad operates services between Abu Dhabi and Chinese cities Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

The airline has been running cargo services from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi since March 2009 and will continue to operate five freight services per week.

Etihad also plans to launch flight services to Nigeria in July. It began flying into Libya in January this year.

Photo: www.flightticketbooking.com