UGANDA: Sebastiaan Spijkers Brussels Airlines Manager Moves To Kigali

Sebastiaan Spijkers leaving the country after nearly three years at the helm of the Brussels Airlines team in Kampala and Entebbe, moving to Kigali / Rwanda.

The airline used the opportunity to invite the Belgian community in Uganda, staff of the Royal Belgian Embassy, corporate clients and officials on the occasion, not only to celebrate the upcoming festive season but also to say a fond farewell to Sebastiaan and welcome back a familiar face, Geert Lemmen, who already represented Sabena and SN Brussels in Uganda in past years.

Geert, who arrived in Kampala a few days ago from Conakry, expressed his delight to be back in familiar territory and the function last evening showed how he was instantly settling in, renewing old acquaintances and friendships.

Apart from Brussels Airlines staff on duty at the airport to handling the incoming and outgoing flight from and back to Brussels was every other team member also at hand to interact with their regular clientele, combining the farewell for Sebastiaan with the welcome for Geert with Seasons Greetings to everyone present.

His Excellency the Belgian Ambassador Mr. Hugo Verbist was the Guest of Honour for the function and as usual took the opportunity to highlight the importance of Brussels Airlines not just for the Belgian community but for Ugandans at large.
Combined have Sabena, SN Brussels and now Brussels Airlines served Uganda since independence with uninterrupted flights, apart from the one year transition from Sabena to SN Brussels, making it the oldest European carrier to fly to Entebbe.

Sebastiaan, We wish you the best at your new posting in Kigali, Rwanda.

TANZANIA: Etihad Airways Flights To Dar es Salaam

Etihad Airways, the flag carrier and the second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates, launched its daily flights to Tanzania on Tuesday, adding to the list a growing of Middle East carriers eyeing Tanzanian and African airspace.

Etihad Airways touched down at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday and the Airbus A320 aircraft received a ceremonial water cannon salute. It will be operating daily nonstop flights connecting the business city of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Dar es Salaam.

The daily flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft and set to attract more passengers from Tanzania and its neighbouring states. Etihad Airways joins the list of a growing number of Middle East registered airlines lobbying East African skies.

Dar es Salaam will be Etihad Airways’ 110th destination globally and its 11th destination in Africa and the Indian Ocean, reports from the airline’s head office in Abu Dhabi said. The flights will be connecting the Tanzanian capital with 45 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, North and Southern Asia and Australia through daily flights, the Etihad report said.

Taking advantage of the fast-growing air connection between East Africa and the Middle East, Tanzania is lobbying tourists and travel trade investments from the Gulf States and the rest of the Arab World.

A team of tourist business stakeholders and marketing officials from Tanzania visited Dubai and other Middle East states last year, looking for potential tourists and investors in tourism from the Gulf States and invited them to invest in Tanzania’s fast-growing tourist industry, taking advantage of the Middle East airlines new routes.

Tanzania Tourist Board had launched marketing campaigns to attract visitors from the Gulf States through these airlines. Hotel and accommodations, hunting and camping safaris are areas of tourist investment and the Tanzania Tourist Board is looking to market them in the Gulf States.

Although the number of Arab tourists to East Africa is not as big as the European and American holidaymakers, there has been a notable number of hunting tourists from the Middle East to Tanzania and the rest of East Africa. About 15,000 tourists from the Gulf visit East Africa every year.

Although small in numbers, East African nations are taking advantage of the Middle East-registered airlines to be a lifeline for Arab-speaking holidaymakers. Airlines registered in Middle Eastern states that are flying to Tanzania include Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Turkish Airlines and Fly Dubai, which are the most competitive over Tanzania’s airspace.

Middle East-registered airlines have taken over the Tanzanian airspace from the traditional European-based airlines which had pulled out their flights between key European cities and Dar es Salaam.

Among European carriers that pulled their flights out of Tanzania are SAS (Scandinavian), Sabena, Air France, Lufthansa, Aeroflot (Russia), Alitalia and British Airways.