Kigali airport reopens and RwandAir takes off again on 1 August

RwandAir announced for 1 August the relaunch of eight routes in Africa plus one to Dubai. For flights to/from Europe, it will be necessary to wait longer.

1st August 2020 will be marked by the reopening of Kigali airport, after four months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rwandan national company being one of the eight present to have immediately asked to resume their activities.

RwandAir said in a statement that it will restart flights to Cotonou, Dar Es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Douala, Dubai, Kamembe, Libreville, Lusaka and Nairobi from next week. Some travel restrictions might still be applicable, in particular testing requirements – and therefore travellers should inquire before booking a flight.

The relaunch of flights to Brussels and London Gatwick is not mentioned, even if Rwanda is still on the European Union’s list of countries whose nationals can travel without any particular reason.

Other airlines have also requested authorisation to restart flights to Kigali: Brussels Airlines from Brussels (although Belgium still prohibits non-essential travel to the country), KLM from Amsterdam, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, Qatar Airways from Doha, Kenya Airways and low-cost Jambojet from Nairobi, and Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa.

RwandAir operates a fleet of 12 aircraft: one Airbus A330-200, one A330-300, six Boeing 737-700 and -800, two Mitsubishi CRJ900 and two De Havilland Q400. Its order book includes two A330-900neo and two Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Source: ActuDaily