Arik Air adds Kinshasa, DRC as third central African destination

West and Central Africa's largest commercial carrier, Nigeria's Arik Air, is expanding its regional African network with the addition of new flight services from Lagos to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The first flight takes place this Wednesday, (5 December) and will operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Kinshasa becomes Arik Air’s third destination in Central Africa, following the inclusion of flights to Luanda, Angola in 2011 and Douala, Cameroon in August this year.

The new Lagos-Kinshasa service will operate via Douala, Cameroon with outbound flights departing from the MurtalaMuhammed International Airport, Lagos at 11:10 am (local time) and arriving at Douala International Airport at 12:40 pm (local time). Flights will then continue onto Kinshasa, departing from Douala at 1:25 pm (local time) and arriving at N'djili International Airport, Kinshasa at 3:25 pm (local time).

The return flights will leave Kinshasa at 4:10 pm (local time), arriving in Douala at 6:10 pm (local time) and will thereafter leave Douala at 6:55 pm (local time), arriving in Lagos at 8:25 pm (local time).

The Lagos to Kinshasa route will be served with a Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft. with 12 Business Class seats and 112 Economy Class. Business Class passengers will enjoy a 44” seat pitch with cradle style seats, while Economy Class passengers will have plenty of room on the flight with a generous seat pitch of 34”.

Arik Air’s Managing Director/Executive Vice President, Mr. Chris Ndulue said: “Kinshasa is our 12th African destination and this underscores the airline’s commitment to linking the African markets for proper integration of the continent. Kinshasa is the second largest city in sub-Saharan Africa and the third largest in the whole continent after Lagos and Cairo. Thus, it is strategically important to link Lagos with Kinshasa.”