On October 29 of this year, RwandAir will begin operating daily flights between Kigali and London Heathrow. This comes after it upped the frequency on the same route to four times a week a few months earlier.
RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo said in a statement that “Having first launched flights to the British capital in 2017, we have continued to build our presence following strong demand from customers here in the UK and Africa.
“We know these new daily direct flights will offer customers the convenience and connectivity which they have long asked for, and we look forward to welcoming more visitors to Rwanda.”
The airline began operating flights from London Gatwick on May 26, 2017, and has been operating flights between London and Kigali via an indirect service via Brussels since then.
RwandAir made the decision to relocate its flights to London Heathrow in 2020, which will enhance connectivity for tourists coming from farther away.
Over the past two years, RwandAir has dramatically increased the scope of its operations. Most recently, to capitalize on the summer travel season, direct flights between Paris and Kigali were introduced.
The airline is benefiting from the strong recovery of Rwanda’s tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions/Events) sector which earned the country $ 62.4 million in 2022 from hosting 104 events, up from $12.5 million in 2021.
This year, the country continues to host global events -with the most recent happening this week – the Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023) attended by at least 6000 delegates.
The country is also set to host the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in November 2023. It will also host the inaugural TIME100 Summit and Impact Awards Africa which recognize the most influential people in the world on 17 November.
Meanwhile, RwandAir is backing closing its partnership deal with Qatar Airways which is set to acquire a 49 percent stake in the airline to expand its capacity.
Qatar Airways’ planned investment is valued at least $28 million, according to financial statements submitted to the US Department of Transportation in 2021.
On October 5, 2021, RwandAir and Qatar Airways announced they had signed a comprehensive codeshare agreement that gives the Rwandan carrier access to Qatar’s more than 65 destinations across Africa and the rest of the world.
As part of the deal, RwandAir launched non-stop flights between its Kigali hub and Doha in December.