RWANDAIR SETS DATE FOR ACCRA INAUGURAL FLIGHT
RwandAir has today announced the date of the inaugural flight celebration for their new route to Accra / Ghana as 15th of June. The airline already flies to Brazzaville, Libreville and Lagos and will shortly commence regular scheduled flights to Accra and Douala, bringing their West African destinations to five and 16 overall. Next in line will then be South Sudan’s capital city of Juba, but no date has yet been given when flights will be launched.
The Rwandan national airline has been expanding their network to key African destinations from where passengers can not only fly to Kigali but connect across the continent, and importantly daily to Dubai, with short transit times. After taking delivery a few months ago of two brand new CRJ 900NextGen, RwandAir more recently exchanged two leased B737-500 against two of the more advanced B737-700NG aircraft, which not only offer a significantly expanded range but also more seats and cargo capacity.
Last month did RwandAir place a firm order for a Bombardier Q400, which, when delivered later this year, will boost capacity on the domestic routes to Gisenyi and Cyangugu / Kamembe as well as to the nearer regional destinations like Bujumbura, Entebbe and Mwanza.
The airline is presently considering converting an option for a further two CRJ 900NG, likely for delivery in the second half of 2014, and also has two B787 Dreamliners on order, due for delivery around 2015/16.
The Rwandan government, which owns the airline, is supporting aviation development even more through the construction of a new airport in Bugesera, for which a main contractor has only recently been named after completion of the tender process. The new airport, construction for which is due to start later this year, is expected to be operational by around 2016/17, adding much needed capacity to the airlines presently already flying to Kigali. Kanombe International Airport, inspite of short term expansion measures like new lounge and check in areas, is progressively reaching capacity limits during peak arrival and departure times.
Expect live updates from the inaugural flight celebration, so watch this space.
