Silverstone launches direct Nairobi-Mara flight

Local airline Silverstone Air Services has intensified competition on the Maasai Mara route with the launch of direct flights from Nairobi.

The airline, which has been operating in Kenya since 2017, said the new flights originating from Wilson Airport, charge about Sh28,000 for a return ticket.

The route will be served by a Dash 8-300 aircraft that carries 37passengers and a Cessna Caravan that flies 12 passengers.

“We have launched daily flights from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to Maasai Mara,” said Silverstone Air Sales manager Patrick Oketch in an interview Monday.

“The departure time from Wilson Airport to Maasai Mara will be at 10.00am. The plane will then leave Maasai Mara at 11.15am to arrive in Nairobi at noon.”

Mr Oketch said there will be another flight in the evening leaving Nairobi at 3.00pm to arrive in Maasai Mara at 3.45pm.

The flight, he said will then leave Maasai Mara at 4.15pm to arrive in Nairobi at 5.00 pm.

The flights will be terminating at airstrips such as Olkiombo and Keekorok in Maaasai Mara.

“Our flights will also be terminating at Mara Serena and Kichwa Tembo airstrips,” said Mr Oketch. Silverstone Air has been on an expansion mode since it established operations in the Kenyan market.

Early this month, the airline introduced two daily return flights on the Nairobi-Eldoret route.

The carrier operates on the route using two Dash 8-100s, one Dash 8-300s, a cargo plane as well as two Fokker 50s.

The airline is also set to start daily flights between Nairobi and Wajir towards the end of this month, raising the number of options for customers plying the North Eastern route.

The carrier’s passenger flights target tourists from the Western and Coastal regions charging between Sh4,500 and Sh10,000 for a one-way ticket between Kisumu and Mombasa.