Potting Holidays & Safaris from Nkhotakota.

Flights to Malawi

The following 3 airlines fly daily to Malawi:-

Kenya Airways/KLM

As a family we have been using Kenya Airways, who are in partnership with KLM, for many years and always find the staff very helpful and the service good; with their new planes the service is now usually excellent. Their flights are all via Nairobi and arrive at Lilongwe International Airport. Departures are usually from Heathrow in the late evening, arriving in the early morning at Nairobi, with the flight on to Malawi arriving before midday. Most return flights leave around midday or in the early afternoon to connect to the overnight flight from Nairobi which arrives at Heathrow early in the morning. Kenya Airways/KLM have very good connections to all airports in Europe. Kenya Airways ticket prices are usually cheaper when booked at least 6 months in advance.

Ethiopian Airlines

Considered as one of the best airlines in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines flights are all through Addis Ababa which has a new International Airport with good facilities. For flights from Europe the times of departure and arrival are similar to Kenya Airways. Normally flights also land briefly at Rome or Frankfurt for passengers with connections to Europe. A few flights include an overnight stay (at no charge) in Addis Ababa, with a day time flight on to Europe the next morning. Some passengers enjoy the chance to sleep in a bed rather than an airline seat and there is the chance to see a little of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian offer some of the most competitive fares, particularly when booking at short notice and in the peak season of July & August.

South African Airlines

SAA is a good airline with excellent service and flies to Malawi via Johannesburg, which is a large modern airport. However please ensure that you have at least 3 hours in Johannesburg to change planes, so that if your flight is slightly late your luggage will have time to catch up with you. Being a large airport luggage takes time to be transferred and on several occasions guests who had short changeover times arrived without their luggage & had to wait up to 48 hours for their luggage to arrive. Some flights from South Africa to Malawi terminate at Blantyre in the South of Malawi; we suggest that guests coming on such flights should take a domestic connection to Lilongwe.

Other Airlines

Many airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, fly into Johannesburg and from time to time enter into agreements with other airlines to fly passengers from Johannesburg to Malawi. The points about transfer time and luggage at Johannesburg airport mentioned above should also be considered for these flights.

Luggage Allowance

Most airlines on intercontinental routes now give an allowance of checked in luggage of 2 pieces with a maximum of 23kgs each piece. It is worth checking carefully the allowance when booking so that if you are taking pots on your return flight you will have a generous allowance and avoid having to pay excess baggage charges which can be very expensive.

Prices for flights

As a registered tour operator we can obtain fairly good prices for tickets; however some guests have managed to find cheaper tickets either though travel agents in their own countries or on the internet . Usually the cheaper tickets are available by booking well in advance.