Getting to Kilimanjaro (JRO Airport)
Kilimanjaro Flights
Most Kilimanjaro treks start out of the towns of Arusha or Moshi in Tanzania. Kilimanjaro International Airport (airport code JRO), located midway between Arusha and Moshi, handles the international flights, while the much smaller Arusha airport (airport code ARK) handles domestic Tanzanian air traffic.
Flights from ouside Africa to JRO
The only regularly scheduled direct flights from outside Africa to JRO are from Europe (Amsterdam and Frankfurt). If you're arriving from North America or elsewhere, you'll have to make a transfer in Europe, or else fly into another African city and make a connection.
For most travellers, the most convenient way to get to Kilimanjaro from outside of Africa is to take the daily flight on KLM from Amsterdam (airport code AMS) to JRO. The KLM flight does a loop: leave Amsterdam in the late morning, arrive at Kilimanjaro in the evening (flying time is about 8 hours), short hop to Dar es Salaam (airport code DAR), then back to Amsterdam overnight. KLM and its Sky Team partners (Northwest, Continental, Delta, Air France, ...) have connections to Amsterdam from around the globe.
If you're flexible about your dates, the discount German airline Condor has some great fares from Frankfurt, Germany (airport code FRA) to JRO. However, they only fly once a week, leaving Frankfurt on Tuesday nights, arriving at JRO on Wednesday mornings, and flying back to Frankfurt (with a stop in Mombasa, Kenya, code MBA) on Wednesdays. Condor has connections to Frankfurt from across Europe, as well as from several North American cities.
Another option to get to JRO is to take Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (airport code ADD), then transfer to their daily flight to JRO. Ethiopian Airlines has connections to selected major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia.
You can also fly into another African city, then change airlines for the flight to Kilimanjaro (or else take a long African bus ride!). We don't like to mix and match airlines too much, as it increases the risk of lost luggage and missed flights. Some of the logical cities to fly into and common routings include:
- Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (airport code DAR), on SWISS Airlines from Zurich (airport code ZRH, Air Emirates from Dubai (airport code DXB)
- Nairobi, Kenya (airport code NBO), on British Airways from London Heathrow (airport code LHR)
- Johannesburg, South Africa (airport code JNB), on South African Airways from Washington DC (airport code IAD), Sydney Australia (airport code SYD), Hong Kong (airport code HKG), etc.
Flights from inside Africa to JRO
Kilimanjaro International Airport is well served by flight connections with other major African cities in the region. Check out our summary of the JRO flight schedule for more info.
Kilimanjaro airport (JRO) schedule
The website for Kilimanjaro airport shows their entire flight schedule. We've summarized the direct connections in and out of JRO in the table below:
| Airline | Connecting Airports | Online Booking Link |
|---|---|---|
| Precision Air (code PW) |
NBO - Nairobi, Kenya DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania ZNZ - Zanzibar, Tanzania MWZ - Mwanza, Tanzania MBA - Mombasa, Kenya EBB - Entebbe, Uganda |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search  |
| Air Tanzania (code TC) |
DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania ZNZ - Zanzibar, Tanzania MWZ - Mwanza, Tanzania JNB - Johannesburg, South Africa |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Regional Air (code QP) |
WIL - Nairobi, Kenya (Wilson Airport) | Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Air Excel (code AXL) |
ARK - Arusha, Tanzania | Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Ethiopian Airlines (code ET) |
DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania ADD - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Rwandair (code WB) |
KGL - Kigali, Rwanda | Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Kenya Airways (code KQ) |
DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania NBO - Nairobi, Kenya |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| KLM (code KL) |
AMS - Amsterdam, Netherlands DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
| Condor (code DE) |
FRA - Frankfurt, Germany MBA - Mombasa, Kenya |
Kayak flight search Vayama flight search |
Airport codes
- JRO - Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- DAR - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
- ZNZ - Zanzibar, Tanzania
- MWZ - Mwanza, Tanzania
- ARK - Arusha, Tanzania
- NBO - Nairobi, Kenya
- WIL - Nairobi, Kenya (Wilson Airport)
- MBA - Mombasa, Kenya
- JNB - Johannesburg, South Africa
- KGL - Kigali, Rwanda
- ADD - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- EBB - Entebbe, Uganda
- AMS - Amsterdam, Netherlands
- FRA - Frankfurt, Germany
Note that Arusha has two airports: Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), and the smaller Arusha airport (code ARK) for domestic flights.
Airline codes
- QP - Regional Air, Tanzania
- PW - Precision Air, Tanzania
- TC - Air Tanzania, Tanzania
- AXL - Air Excel, Tanzania
- ET - Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia
- WB - Rwandair Express, Rwanda
- KQ - Kenya Airways, Kenya
- KL - KLM, Netherlands
- DE - Condor, Germany
Booking Kilimanjaro Flights
For booking flights to and from JRO, by far the best online booking tool we've found is from Vayama. What sets Vayama apart from the other online travel sites is that they offer flights on regional and domestic African airlines, such as Air Tanzania and Precision Air. We also think their interactive mapping tool is pretty cool! The main limitation is that their website only accepts US and Canadian credit cards.
For general comparison shopping, we like the Kayak flight search because it can save you a ton of time. You just enter your flight details once and Kayak searches hundreds of websites (including Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, lots of airline sites, ticket consolidators, etc.) and compiles the results for you.
Tip: Kayak shows you price and airline options, and you have to click on the price to get the flight details from the target site.