Dubai-based flydubai has announced the start of flights to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from April 15.

The daily flights will operate with an enroute stop in nearby Entebbe and will also be available for booking through the Emirates codeshare agreement.

Flydubai becomes the first UAE carrier to operate flights to N'djili Airport (also known as Kinshasa International Airport) and provide links from the UAE and the region to a new gateway in Central Africa.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of flydubai, said: “Africa is fast emerging as one of the most important markets for the United Arab Emirates and we have seen the trade relationship going from strength to strength in recent years. With the proximity to the continent and rising demand to more direct links to Africa, we see this new service to Kinshasa playing an instrumental role in further supporting the growing trade and tourism flows in the coming years.”

Kinshasa is one of the largest cities in Africa and a busy hub providing extensive connections to cities across the African continent and intercontinental services to Europe. The country is known for its vast natural resource wealth; it is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and a major producer of copper and diamonds.

“The number of African companies registered with Dubai Chamber exceeded 12,000 in 2017, which demonstrates the increased cooperation and opportunity between both sides,” said Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president, Commercial Operations (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa).

“We are looking forward to operating this route and exploring more opportunities to expand our network in Africa in the near future, while offering passengers a reliable and unrivalled onboard service whether they are travelling in Business or Economy Class,” he added.

Passengers travelling to and from Kinshasa will have the option of a Business Class experience, benefitting from priority check-in service, comfortable spacious seats and a range of dining options. Passengers travelling in Economy Class will have access comfortable seating and a convenient way to travel.

Since the start of its operations in 2009, flydubai has built up a comprehensive network in Africa with flights to Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Asmara, Djibouti, Entebbe, Hargeisa, Juba, Khartoum and Port Sudan, as well as Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. – TradeArabia News Service