Brussels Airlines Launches New Flights to Kilimanjaro from June 2026

The Lufthansa Group has structured itself to have airlines specifically specialized in certain operations. The role of Brussels Airlines in this ecosystem is to funnel traffic, via Brussels airport, onto its extensive African route network. The airline’s core business are flights to Africa. That core is getting stronger as the airline prepares to launch another flight serving East Africa. Kilimanjaro international airport is soon to become the latest Brussels Airlines destination.

Brussels Airlines Expands in East Africa

Brussels Airlines flight SN487 will further boost the carrier’s operations in Africa. This new service will reaffirm the Belgian airline’s leading role in connecting Europe to Africa.

Flight SN487 will have Brussels Airlines launch regular flights to Kilimanjaro international airport in Tanzania. That will boost the airline’s route network to 18 destinations served in sub-Saharan Africa, making of it by far the most served region outside of Europe.

Brussels Airlines flight SN487 from Brussels to Kilimanjaro international airport will operate in a similar way to flight SN481 Brussels to Kigali, which the airline announced in 2024.

Both flights operated as fifth freedom of the air flights. They both transit in Nairobi, Kenya, before making their return flight to Brussels, Belgium.

New Route Details and Flight Schedule

The new Brussels Airlines flight SN487 will operate as a fifth freedom flight, as mentioned above. Flights will depart Brussels bound for Kilimanjaro international airport to then fly onwards to Nairobi and then return to Europe.

This is a common flight structure for Brussels Airlines. The Belgian carrier often pairs together destinations in Africa which might have difficulty filling a wide body aircraft, particularly during low traffic demand periods.

Additional indication of this comes from the chosen frequency for service SN487. Brussels Airlines will operate the service only twice per week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the first flight from Brussels to Kilimanjaro set to fly on June 3rd 2026.

As for the aircraft type to be used on this new flight to East Africa, there weren’t all that many options. Brussels Airlines will have to use the only wide body plane in its fleet capable of covering the 9 hour flight between Brussels and Kilimanjaro: the Airbus A330-300.

These planes are fitted with a 3 class configuration featuring

• 30 Business class seats in an alternating 1-2-1 and 2-1-2 setup.
• 21 or 28 Premium Economy Seats in a 2-3-2 layout.
• 244 or 225 Economy Class Seats in a 2-4-2 layout.

Other Summer 2026 Network Updates

Kilimanjaro is only the shiniest of the new destinations and route network expansions coming in 2026 for Brussels Airlines. The Belgian carrier will be also expanding with summer services to:

• Freetown
• Barcelona
• Malaga
• Alicante
• Oporto

And also increasing frequencies to:

• Copenhagen – 5 additional weekly flights.
• Prague – 4 additional weekly flights.
• Budapest – 2 additional weekly flights.

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