Kenya airways (KQ) will add a fourth weekly flight to its Bamako-Dakar route beginning February 3. The plane will leave Narobi on Saturday morning at 8.55am to arrive in Bamako, Mali at 12:45pm. The return flight leaves at darker in the evening to arrive in Nairobi on Sunday in the morning. The managing director Mr. Titus Naikuni said a fourth frequency was an indication of the growing demand for flight services on the Bamako and Dakar route. Since the launch of the route on July 1, 200, we have seen an increase in demand for our direct and reliable services to Senegal and Mali, and indeed the whole of East, Central and Southern Africa and Asia, referred to as the West-East merchant corridor. Early morning arrival in Nairobi is convenient for traveler connecting to the rest of Africa, the Middle and Far East and to Europe via Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Currently KQ flies three times a week to Dakar, via Bamako on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The route to Dakar was opened with two weekly direct flights. In October 28^th 2005 due to increasing demand, KQ increased its weekly flights to Senegal to three with a stop over in Bamako, Mali. The services to Dakar and Bamako link East to West and promote growth of tourism and commercial activities. Regional routes are part of KQ strategy to defend its market that is increasingly getting invaded by international airlines especially from the Middle East.

Besides flying own planes to regional destinations, KQ is building passenger volumes through code share agreements with other carrier like Air Malawi, Turkish Airlines, KLM and Precision Air. The airline connects more than 20 cities in Africa with JKIA as its hub.  Safari travels need not worry when traveling to Mali from Kenya.