‘QUEEN FABIOLA’ BIDS GOODBYE TO KIGALI’S PEARL LOUNGE
(Posted 29th June 2015)
Four years and thousands upon thousands of passengers later is Fabiola Dusabe saying her fond farewells to the ‘Fab Staff’ at Kigali International Airport’s Pearl Lounge. As General Manager of the lounge, the initial smaller one when it originally opened and the much larger one when the airport’s expansion works were completed, did Fabiola over the last couple of years make many friends and put the lounge on the map.
When more recently catching up with her while in transit in Kigali she did express her sentiments and to a degree her sadness to return to Europe, Switzerland to be precise, leaving the country of her forbears once again behind. ‘AbFAB’ as she is known on some of her social media pages, was an active user of in particular Twitter to promote the lounge’s services and, according to one of her team members, an inspiration for the staff at the lounge.
‘It will be an emotional moment when we leave from Kigali. We made so many friends, my twins were born here, it will be a big change when we return to Europe’ did she confide in me when we sat down to what will no doubt be the last chat in a while.
On her Facebook page, where she published the picture above ahead of her and her family boarding the Brussels Airlines flight via Entebbe to Brussels, did she then say: ‘J-0 out of Africa ?#?flying ?#?SNbrussels 4 wonderful years to make peace with the past, to carry two daughters like eggs on spoons, to meet the most interesting friends and family members. Thank you mama Africa.?#?ontheroadagain. Elombe Ruta at Pearl Lounge Kigali. Thank you my team, will miss you’.
Several airport and airline staff at Kigali’s airport since spoken to all agreed that Fabiola’s departure would leave a big gap and that she indeed was what her Facebook name said: ‘FAB’.
It is a fond farewell from this correspondent, all the best for the future and looking forward to meeting the new Pearl Lounge teamleader during my next visit to Kigali.
