African hotspot with beautiful beaches and new hotels gets direct UK flights – for the first time in three years

SIERRA Leone has announced the launch of its own airline, with direct UK flights to follow later this year.

A direct service hasn’t linked the UK with Sierra Leone since British Airways suspended its service during the Covid-19 pandemic.

New airline Air Sierra Leone hopes to operate a thrice-weekly service between London and the West African nation.

The new route will be operated by Nigeria-based Xejet Aviation and has received the backing of the Sierra Leone Government, Travel Gossip reports.

The new route is set to launch on December 2, with direct flights operating from London Gatwick every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, flights from Sierra Leone to London Gatwick will operate every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In a post on x (formerly Twitter), Sierra Leone’s Minister of Transport and Aviation Fanday Turay described the new route as “representing a significant advancement for our country’s aviation industry”.

It is not yet known how much flights will cost, although Travel Gossip has reported promotional fares of $750.

More information, including flight times and prices will be announced on Saturday (October 19).

When flights from the UK begin operating later this year, they will land in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone.

A new airport opened in Freetown last year, with a capacity to manage 90,000 passengers per month.

This is five times what it was previously capable of processing, meaning it can now host far more tourists than before.

Meanwhile the European Union is building more than 60 miles of road upgrades, to make it easier for visitors to travel around once they’ve arrived. 

Despite it once being considered one of the more dangerous destinations to visit, there are no current travel advisories in place from the UK Foreign Office.

At present, no tour operators currently run tours or packages to Sierra Leone.

It’s easy to see why people would enjoy Sierra Leone as a holiday destination, with high temperatures sticking around the 30C throughout the year.

Sierra Leone is also very affordable, with a night for two in a double room in the capital Freetown from £19.

Elsewhere, a beer in the country can be bought from around 50p.

There’s plenty to keep holidaymakers entertained too, including Bureh Beach and the Turtle Islands.

Bureh Beach is a surf haven, while the Turtle Islands have been described as “the stuff castaway movies are made of” by travel experts Bradt.

They continued: “Eight tiny islands form the Turtle Islands, an undeveloped archipelago thrown across the Atlantic just off the western shore of Sherbro Island.

“Each one is a slice of pure, bright sand sat amid breath-taking azure, framed by sighing palms silhouetted against a hazy blue sky.”

They get their name from the wildlife that can be seen in the waters around the archipelago, with snorkelling and diving very popular around the islands.

Other popular natural attractions include Mount Bintumani, the highest peak in West Africa, where people come from all over to hike amid the lush rainforests that cover its lower slopes.

Those forests are home to a large variety of animals, like pygmy hippopotamuses, dwarf crocodiles and several species of primate.

Visitors could soon be able to see primates in Sierra Leone as part of plans for a new eco-tourism circuit that would take in both Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Mt Bintumani.

Luther star Idris Elba has unveiled plans to transform Sherbro Island, just off the coast of Sierra Leone, the country in West Africa where his father was born.

Sherbro Island has miles of sandy beaches and is described online as a place to relax and slow down.

The island is one of several places with impressive stretches of shoreline in the country.

And thanks to Idris, it could soon become a hugely important destination.

Currently the only place that accommodates tourists on the island is the Bonthe Holiday Village, which offers accommodation with AC in comfortable rooms located in chalets.

But Elba wants to create much more for tourists and locals to enjoy on the island.

He has said that he wants to make it an ‘afro-dynamic eco-city’ and a new urban hub for all of Africa, which will include new hotels.

Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP), who are helping with the development has said that it will be done while protecting the island’s ‘delicate ecosystem’.

British Airways is understood to be discussing a return with the west African country about resuming its flights.

Meanwhile, this new European airline is set to launch flights this summer.

And this lesser-known airline has new flights from two UK airports.