Rwanda’s national carrier Rwandair has started direct flights to London’s Heathrow Airport.
Previously, Rwandair has been flying to London via Brussels in Belgium.
The inaugural direct flight left Kigali International Airport on Sunday afternoon and arrived in London on Monday morning.
The carrier said there would be four direct flights weekly from Kigali to London – Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – with return flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
WB711 leaves London at 20:30 every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The return flight, WB710, leaves at 23:35 every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
“The UK is an incredibly important market for us, and we know our customers will value the shorter flight times and increased connections that will be offered by the new service,” Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir’s chief executive said recently.
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The direct flights are set to open direct competition with Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways which is dogged by financial and staff problems.
RwandAir currently serves 28 routes across East, Central, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, from the Kigali International airport.
RwandAir has flown between London and Kigali since May 2017 via an indirect service through Brussels, having launched flights from London Gatwick on 26 May 2017.
In 2020, after three successful years, the African airline switched flights to Heathrow, helping to improve connections for travellers.
In 2020, after three successful years, the African airline switched flights to Heathrow, helping to improve connections for travellers.
“We are delighted to see RwandAir expand their operations by launching a new non-stop route linking London and Kigali through Heathrow, the UK’s hub airport,” Ross Baker, Heathrow’s Chief Commercial Officer, said.
“It is fantastic that demand for travel is increasing again, boosting connectivity for passengers and cargo.”
RwandAir has one of the youngest fleets on the African continent, with twelve aircraft including two wide-body Airbus A330s.