Charter Flights To Mombasa

Mombasa is the most popular spot on the Kenyan coast, and most charter flights to Mombasa originate in Europe. The UK has an extensive schedule of flights to Kenya, with carriers such as flythomascook.com charter, Monarch Airlines, Thomson Flights, Mytravel and First Choice Airways operating direct charter flights to Mombasa.

Charter carriers have been responsible for the growth in tourism in Mombasa as they ferry large numbers of European visitors, especially during the winter months. While the recent economic turmoil has led to the withdrawal of some charter carriers, low-cost regional carriers in Africa such as Fly 540, Jetlink Express and Kenya Airways have moved into fill the vacuum by increasing the number of flights between Nairobi and Mombasa.

Therefore, travelers now have the flexibility of catching a charter flight to Nairobi and fly onward to Mombasa on a low-cost carrier, as an alternative to boarding a direct charter.

In summer of 2009, tourism in Mombasa was given a boost by the 50% cut in visa fees until 2010. Adults now need pay only US$25 while children under 16 years of age enter free, offering substantial savings for families. Where once a family of 4 would have to cough up US$200 in visa fees, they now need pay only $50, for a noticeable savings of US$150!

UK Charter Flights

Direct charter flights to Mombasa can be boarded from Manchester and London’s Gatwick on the UK-originated charter carriers. However, if you have the time and flexibility, there are many more indirect charter flights from Heathrow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Belfast, among others. Most of these flights are operated by KLM, Air France, Kenya Airways, and even Aer Lingus.

Flights from the UK take around nine hours and are scheduled to fly out around two-three days of the week, usually, Monday, Thursday or Sunday.

Charter flights to Mombasa almost exclusively for packaged holidays, and excess seats are sold for the flight portion only. Seats tend to be priced fairly inexpensively compared to scheduled flights by the larger carriers such as British Airways and Kenya Airways.

Seats on charter flights to Mombasa fill up fast during the peak holiday months, from May to early October and during the year-end holidays from December to January. For the best pricing on fares, book at least a few months ahead of departure.

Outside of these months, there are good deals to on off-season fares. It is always advisable to shop around either online or with various travel agencies, and ensure that prices quoted include extra taxes, baggage fees or fuel surcharges.

Indirect flights from North America, Australia and New Zealand

There are no direct flights to Mombasa from any of these countries. Therefore, it is necessary to fly to a European hub such as London, Amsterdam, Berlin or Zurich to catch a charter service operated out of these airports.

There are unique charter flights to Mombasa which operate for a short period such as over the Christmas and New Year holidays. On the whole, onboard services are leaner compared to scheduled services and food and drinks are not always included and seats can be narrower with less leg room. However, once you are on the beach in sunny Mombasa, all these details become irrelevant!