Tanzania’s Grumeti Air to start international ops in 2Q21

Tanzanian safari air transfer specialist Grumeti Air (Arusha), on June 2, 2021, launches scheduled cross-border flights between the Serengeti and Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, thereby connecting top safari destinations in East Africa, the carrier announced. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, flights from Kigali will operate thrice weekly to Musoma, continuing to Seronera, using a Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravan. Immigration procedures in Tanzania will be carried out in Musoma. Flights will depart Seronera at 1015L to arrive at Musoma at 1110L, departing from there at 1140L to arrive in Kigali at 1200L. They will depart the capital again at 1245L, arriving in Musoma at 1505L, leaving again at 1535L to arrive at Seronera at 1630L. Other Serengeti stops may be evaluated on request, on a case-by-case basis, the carrier said. The airline currently operates daily domestic services from its base in Arusha to Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar, the ch-aviation schedules module shows. In combination with the Kigali flight, Grumeti Air said it was also adding an additional thrice-weekly late afternoon flight out of the Serengeti that would allow passengers to connect with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) and Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int’l) flights leaving from Kilimanjaro at night. Grumeti Air also offers private charters for a maximum of 12 passengers. Despite a contraction in travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the carrier said it had maintained essential connections to the Serengeti area, albeit with reduced frequency. Heading into the low season, it was still operating daily services in and out of the Serengeti. It serves Kogatende, Lamai, and Sasakwa daily out of Arusha, according to the schedule published on its website. It said the new routes were an important milestone for the company as they would directly connect Kigali – the gateway to Gorilla-trekking safaris – with the Singita Grumeti Reserve, situated adjacent to the world-renowned Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The reserve forms part of the path of the famous annual wildebeest migration in the Serengeti-Mara.