Finding (Cheap) Flights to Kilimanjaro

Cheap international Kilimanjaro flights are not easy to come by.

Kilimanjaro has its own international airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), but it's tiny and not many airlines fly to it.

These are the big, international carriers:

  • The Dutch airline KLM offers direct flights from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro (and on to Dar es Salaam).
  • Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Ethiopian Airlines connect to Kilimanjaro via their respective hubs: Doha, Istanbul and Addis Ababa.
  • After a 28-year (!) pause, Air France resumed service to Kilimanjaro in November 2024. The airline now flies three times a week from Charles de Gaulle Airport, with a stopover in Zanzibar.

And last but not least, there is the leisure airline Edelweiss Air. The Swiss carrier is part of the German Lufthansa group and since 2021 offers direct flights to Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro, starting from Zürich.

There are no direct flights to Kilimanjaro from the US. You will need to stop over in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Doha, or Addis Ababa. The other option is to add a domestic flight to your international one ...

Domestic Flights To/From Kilimanjaro, Flights from Kenya

Kilimanjaro International Airport is not the only international airport in Tanzania.

Many travellers have additional plans within Tanzania or East Africa:
If you want to relax on the beaches in Zanzibar after your climb, or if you want to combine your Kilimanjaro climb with a safari in Tanzania or Kenya, then consider flying to or from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar in Tanzania, or even to/from Kenya. Those flights will work out cheaper.

For such flights, look at Precision Air, Air Tanzania, and Kenya Airways. They all offer frequent services to Kilimanjaro Airport.

  • Kenya Airways offers flights to Kilimanjaro from Nairobi up to three times a day.
  • Precision Air, a young and dynamic Tanzanian airline with competitive prices, operates twice daily flights from Nairobi as well as flights from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro. They also fly to six other destinations in Tanzania.
  • Air Tanzania operates Kilimanjaro flights several times a day from/to Dar es Salaam, as well as 15 other destinations in Tanzania and Johannesburg in South Africa.

Budget travellers and backpackers with more time than money should definitely check out all those options carefully. A bus trip is not the most comfortable way to get around Tanzania, but it's an adventure in itself and a cheap one as well.

If time is at a premium, or if you are flying to Tanzania solely to climb Kilimanjaro, then a flight to Kilimanjaro Airport is the best option. Kilimanjaro Airport is located halfway between Arusha and Moshi, about 50 km from each. It doesn't get much more convenient than that!

If you book your Kilimanjaro climb through an overseas agency, they can often also arrange your flights. But do check the prices and options yourself as well.

In my experience, it works out cheaper if I do it myself, and not only because agencies charge commissions. An online broker specialising in cheap flights can usually come up with a better offer.

Then again, a Kilimanjaro climb already involves a lot of research and planning, so paying a bit extra for someone else to take care of the flight details is also attractive.

Good luck with your search for a cheap Kilimanjaro flight!


Next: Organising your visa for Tanzania

Overview: What it takes to climb Kilimanjaro

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