Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways will more than triple its weekly flight frequency on the Abu Dhabi-Nairobi route, citing strong demand.
The Middle-East carrier plans 14 weekly flights between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi by December 15, 2025, up from the current four, marking an increase of 250 percent or 3.5 times.
Javier Alija, Etihad’s Vice President of Global Sales and Distribution, said the planned route expansion reflects growing confidence in Kenya as a strong aviation and travel market.
“We wouldn’t grow into Nairobi if it were not for the good performance. We've continued to see strong demand that validates our decision to significantly increase capacity on this route to double daily service,” said Mr Alija.
The airline will progressively increase flights between Abu Dhabi and Nairobi, growing from the current four weekly services to eight weekly by October, and reaching 14 weekly services from 15 December 2025. With the planned increase in frequency, Nairobi will become Etihad’s highest-frequency destination in Africa.
“Kenya represents one of Africa's most dynamic aviation markets, and we're responding to that energy. This expansion provides our guests with greater frequency and improved connectivity between our two destinations,” the official added.
The planned double-daily flights are also part of Etihad’s wider strategy to offer better connection options for Kenyan travellers through its Abu Dhabi hub, linking them to destinations across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
“The reason why we’re also going double daily is because the way we are set up in Abu Dhabi is to provide more connections and to provide a broader geographical scope in terms of where you can travel once you get to Abu Dhabi,” said Mr Alija.
Etihad launched the Nairobi route in December 2024, strategically aligning it with the peak holiday travel season to test the demand and also limit its risk.
Although Etihad sees potential in air freight from Kenya, passenger service remains the airline’s main focus. Mr Alija noted that cargo performance is solid, but their current operations use narrow-body aircraft, which limits capacity.
“The ability to carry cargo is more limited. We prioritise carrying our passengers with their bags to make sure we don’t have any payload or options challenges,” he said.
This expansion is also part of the airline’s African growth plan, which includes new services to Addis Ababa through a joint venture with Ethiopian Airlines. Additionally, they have increased frequencies to Casablanca and Johannesburg and are in partnership with Air Seychelles.
“Our partnerships across the continent, combined with direct services like Nairobi, create seamless connections for travellers moving between Africa, the Middle East, and beyond,” said Mr Alija.
