Delegates cut a ribbon to inaugurate the first direct flight of Kenya Airways that connects Africa and Viet Nam on March 31 . — Photo courtesy Le Bros

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Kenya Airways launched direct flights to Ha Noi from its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on March 31, making it the first African airline to connect to Viet Nam.

The carrier will fly the Boeing 787-800 three times per week to the Noi Bai Airport in Ha Noi.

Kenya Airways's CEO Mbuvi Ngunze said the introduction of the flight was in line with the airline's strategy to connect Africa with Asia.

"Viet Nam has shown considerable and stable economic growth in recent years, and there has been increased trade between the East Asian country and African markets. Our direct flight to Ha Noi will offer easy connectivity to business and leisure travellers and will open up trade opportunities between the two fast-growing regions," he said.

He noted that this first direct flight connecting Viet Nam and Africa will leverage the ties between Africa, Viet Nam and the larger Asian market, which are mainly driven by trade-labour relations and tourism.

"Tourism is a key economic sector for many countries in Africa, including our hub in Kenya, and with a growing middle class in Viet Nam, we are looking to tap into offering leisure travellers direct flights to the different attractions we fly to in Africa. This direct flight can increase the tourist receipts for both Viet Nam and the cities in which we operate," the carrier's CEO Ngunze said.

"We will collaborate with Viet Nam's tourism stakeholders to pull traffic from Africa," he added.

So far, Ha Noi is the 52nd destination of Kenya Airways. — VNS