Which airport you fly into in Tanzania?

For a safari in the north of Tanzania you land at Kilimanjaro International Airport, JRO. KLM flies there direct from Amsterdam in about 8 hours and 50 minutes, and from most other cities you fly in with one change. The south and Zanzibar have airports of their own.

The three airports that matter

In Tanzania everyone calls Kilimanjaro airport KIA. When you book a ticket, you need the code JRO.

Kilimanjaro airport sits between Moshi and Arusha, about an hour's drive from each.

Getting there, direct or with one change

KLM flies a triangle. The aircraft goes from Amsterdam direct to Kilimanjaro, then on to Dar es Salaam, and from Dar es Salaam back to Amsterdam. On the way out you land direct at Kilimanjaro. On the way home you leave from Kilimanjaro with a short stop in Dar es Salaam, and you stay in your seat.

How often KLM flies depends on the season. Check klm.com. If the direct flight only runs a few times a week, it decides your departure day, and you want to know that before the rest of your trip is fixed.

With one change you have more choice of days, and it takes longer. The usual hubs are Doha with Qatar Airways, Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines, Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Air France from Paris, Brussels Airlines from Brussels and Lufthansa from Frankfurt fly to Kilimanjaro too, some of them only in certain seasons, so check the schedule for your dates. From North America there is no direct flight, and you come in through Europe or one of these hubs. From the UK there is none yet either. British Airways starts flying from London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro on 29 May 2027, three times a week, for the summer season. If your connection in Nairobi or Addis Ababa lasts longer than twelve hours, you need a yellow fever certificate.

What happens on arrival

At the immigration desk you show:

1. your passport
2. your visa, or you apply for it there
3. your return ticket
4. the certificate for your mandatory Tanzanian travel insurance
5. your yellow fever certificate, if you need one

Then you collect your luggage and walk out. If you travel with us, your guide is waiting there with your name on a sign. Your transfer is arranged, and there is nothing to negotiate and nothing to look for.

Why you do not head into the parks on your first night

The KLM flight lands in the evening, usually between eight and nine. After a long-haul flight you want to sleep, not drive another four hours to Tarangire. That is why most of our trips begin with a night in Moshi or Arusha. You wake up with Kilimanjaro outside your window, if the clouds play along, and your safari starts the next morning, rested.

More on those first days in our blogs about Moshi and Arusha.

Flying on inside Tanzania

To the Serengeti, the south or Zanzibar you fly in a small aircraft. Two things to know:

1. 20 kilos of hold luggage plus 5 kilos of hand luggage. That is how our guests fly, so pack to it.
2. A soft bag, not a suitcase. A soft bag fits in the hold of a small plane, a hard suitcase does not.

If you fly from the mainland to Zanzibar, you go through an immigration desk again. Keep your passport and your insurance certificate to hand. More on our page about Zanzibar airport.

From the aircraft steps to the bush

You land, someone is waiting for you, and the rest is arranged: the first night, the transfers, the domestic flight if you need one. How a trip with us unfolds, day by day, is in our itineraries.

View our itineraries