IndiGo’s 2.10am departure from Mumbai would rival Kenya Airways’ 2.40am flight, while another Kenyan flight departs at 6.45am.
The cheapest return fare from Mumbai to Nairobi is now down to Rs 30,000 (for travel this month), from the earlier Rs 44,000 plus. “The Rs 30,000 return offered by IndiGo is the launch fare and is expected to go up in the coming months, especially around November-December when the Diwali and year-end travel picks up,” said a travel agent, requesting anonymity. “July to November is the best time to visit Kenya, especially if you want to catch the ‘Great Migration’, in which herds of wildebeest, zebras, elands, gazelles, trek 800 km clockwise through the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystems in search of greener pastures,” he added. IndiGo said that its flights would cater to both business and leisure travellers bound not only for Kenya, but beyond as well into Africa, as Nairobi will open doors further into the continent.
In the past few years air connectivity between Mumbai and the African continent has improved and currently 55 weekly flights fly from Mumbai to eight cities including Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Mauritius, Seychelles and Lagos. In FY 2023, 7.5 lakh passengers flew from Mumbai to African cities, shows Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) data. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data for India’s international passenger traffic distribution considers Africa and the Middle East as a single category. In 2022-23 it accounted for 58% of inbound and outbound traffic to/from India, followed by Asia Pacific at about 26 %, Europe at about 12% and the Americas at about 4%.