Qatar Airways is expanding its operations in Africa by launching a daily flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This is the airline's second destination in Tanzania, its 18th gateway in Africa, and 118th global route.
The first flight, which operates from Doha to Kilimanjaro via the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, landed on July 25. The flight QR546 to Kilimanjaro International Airport is operated by an A320 aircraft, with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.
The airport is located 45km from Moshi, the starting point for climbs to Mount Kilimanjaro.
Mount Kilimanjaro a magnet for hikers
The famous Mount Kilimanjaro located in the Kilimanjaro National Park (which officially opened in 1977) receives around 35,000 annual climber tourists a year. The main attraction for visitors is not the wildlife but the equatorial mountain, the biggest in Africa at 5896m. It is a very popular destination among hikers as it is possible to walk to the summit without using ropes.
Expanding tourism destinations
Qatar Airways recently received the award of the best airline in the world by Skytrax for the second year running. Qatar Airways also plans to launch a new route to emerging tourist destination Yangon in Myanmar in October.
