On Wednesday 1 July 2026 Air Congo operated its very first direct non-stop flight between Kinshasa (FIH) and Brussels (BRU), marking the beginning of a new chapter for the young Congolese flag carrier as it jumps into the long-haul market with a symbolic and strategic service between the capital cities of Belgium and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The flight was operated by another airline since all Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) certified airlines are still blacklisted on the EU Air Safety List. Hence, the Congolese flag carrier entered into a strategic ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) wet lease agreement with Ethiopian Airlines, which already owns 49% of the Air Congo shares (the Congolese state owning the other 51%).
Flight ET98 FIH-BRU was operated with Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner ET-ASI which was repainted in a hybrid Air Congo / Ethiopian Airlines livery (the rudder of the aircraft retained the Ethiopian Airlines livery so it did not lose its aerodynamic balance). The flight took off from Kinshasa International Airport at 10:44 local time (WAT / UTC + 1). After a 7h24m flight, the aircraft made an uneventful landing on Brussels Airport’s RWY 25L at 19:07 local time (CEST / UTC + 2).
The return flight ET99 BRU-FIH was scheduled to fly back from Brussels to Kinshasa at 20:45 local time but it was already delayed significantly and took off at 22:21 local time. Instead of landing at Kinshasa at 03:45 local time, it only landed at 04:27 local time.
Despite Air Congo’s original plans to operate five weekly flights between Kinshasa and Brussels – the Kinshasa-Brussels flight arriving at Brussels in the morning, followed by a daytime flight from Brussels back to Kinshasa – the airline made some significant changes to the initial schedule. At moment of writing the Congolese flag carrier has scheduled four weekly flights between Kinshasa and Brussels. The Kinshasa-Brussels flight will leave Kinshasa at 10:00 local time as flight ET98 and will arrive in Brussels at 19:00 local time, whereas the Brussels-Kinshasa flight will leave Brussels at 20:45 local time as flight ET99 and will arrive in Kinshasa at 03:50 the following morning. Flights will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Jan Van de Reyd, Head of Network Development at Brussels Airport, said: “For many in Belgium’s vibrant Congolese community, Kinshasa isn’t just another destination – it’s home. And for many Congolese travellers, Brussels is much more than a gateway to Europe. We’re delighted that Air Congo is adding a new chapter to this special relationship by offering travellers even more choice and strengthening one of the most meaningful VFR* markets in our network.”
Time will tell if this new Air Congo service between the two capital cities becomes profitable for the Congolese flag carrier, but it goes without saying that this new service will bring some new competition to Brussels Airlines which used to have a long-standing full monopoly on the direct non-stop route between Kinshasa and Brussels.
1 July 2026
* VFR: ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives’. The VFR market a major segment of the travel industry encompassing trips where the primary motivation or accommodation involves visiting social connections. Not to be confused with VFR ‘Visual Flight Rules’, a set of regulations that allow a pilot to operate an aircraft primarily by looking outside the window to navigate and avoid obstacles, relying on “see and avoid” principles rather than solely depending on cockpit instruments.
