Domestic carrier Safarilink Aviation is expanding its regional footprint with the launch of a new Nairobi–Entebbe service via Kisumu, set to take off on Monday.
The move by the airline comes amid evolving tourist patterns across East Africa and the growing demand for seamless safari-to-safari and safari-to-coast travel connections.
Safarilink chief executive Alex Avedi says the new route is aimed at providing a strategic link for both international tourists and regional travellers seeking faster and more efficient connections across East Africa.
“Our new Entebbe route is to serve our safari. We have tourists come to Kenya, and then after they’re done with their Kenyan safari, are interested in other East African safaris,” he told Business Daily in an interview on Thursday.
The airline said that the service has been designed to ease movement between Wilson Airport, Kisumu International Airport, and Entebbe International Airport.
“We realised the biggest inconvenience for tourists was the backtracking. Instead of finishing their safari in the Mara and then having to go all the way back to JKIA just to connect to Tanzania or Uganda, we wanted to give them a direct flow. Tourists from the Masai Mara can now go straight to Kisumu,” said Mr Avedi.
“We will be able to take them to Kisumu, then they connect onto our service from Kisumu, going on to Entebbe. It removes the need for them to return to Nairobi and makes the entire safari circuit much more seamless,” he added.
The new route will operate daily morning flights, complemented by their evening flights four times a week, with ticket costing $150 (Sh19,378) for the Nairobi–Entebbe and $110 (Sh14,221) for the Kisumu–Entebbe.
Although established carriers such as Kenya Airways and Uganda Airlines already operate on the route, Safarilink says it has a unique niche.
“Our product is very different; unlike network carriers whose passengers often connect through Nairobi to reach long-haul destinations, Safarilink’s traffic is almost entirely point-to-point, with about 90 percent of travellers flying directly between origins and destinations,” said Mr Avedi.
Safarilink is also reinforcing the route through strategic partnerships.
Mr Avedi says the airline is working with KQ to create a seamless service structure. Earlier in April, KQ, through a codeshare agreement with Safarilink, enabled its international passengers flying from New York to connect directly to the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Through a single ticket and a single check-in, the agreement granted KQ passengers access to two daily Safarilink flights to the Mara airstrip, as well as onward connections to Amboseli, Nanyuki, and Samburu.
“This is the same collaborative approach we’re carrying into the Entebbe route,” Mr. Avedi adds.
Additionally, travellers arriving from Entebbe can link seamlessly through Nairobi to Kenya’s coastal destinations, including Diani, Lamu, Malindi, and Zanzibar. The airline’s new route also opens up connections from the Maasai Mara via Migori into Kisumu, creating a direct gateway into Uganda.
The airline adds that the daily morning flights will be complemented by an additional afternoon service on select days from January 2026.
