RWANDA CIVIL AVIATION TO CONCENTRATE ON BEING A REGULATOR ONLY
(Posted 07th January 2017)
Rwanda’s parliament earlier in the week passed new legislation, which will see key changes in the way the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority operates. In the past did RCAA not only regulate the industry but also operate airports, something the new legal regime will see change over the coming months.
Airport operations will be vested in the Aviation, Travel and Logistics company, under which also national airline RwandAir falls, together with Akagera Aviation and other related ventures.
The changes bring Rwanda in line with best global practice on how regulation and business interests must be separated, something which has happened in Kenya before, also in Tanzania where in both cases airport authorities were created but notably not in Uganda, where the local regulators hang on for dear life to their cash rich airport management situation.
It is understood that the RCAA will now progressively hand over assets to the new bodies, which will manage for instance the airports in Kigali and Kamembe but then restrict itself to regulating those enterprises rather than being further involved in management.
In a related development has RwandAir flown a record number of passengers in 2016 and the arrival of the airline’s 12th aircraft, a Boeing B737-800NG before the middle of the year will further boost operations. While no dates have been officially announced as yet for flights to London and Mumbai, is this a work in progress vis a vis landing rights and putting the infrastructure into place, so watch this space for coming updates.
