RWANDA – RwandAir is set to resume passenger flights to London and Brussels from 3rd October 2020.

The resumption of European services will see the leading African carrier switch its UK operations from London Gatwick, with commercial flights to the Rwandan capital now departing from London Heathrow for the first time.

Flights will initially resume on a twice-weekly basis before increasing to three-times-weekly from 25th October reconnecting the UK with Rwanda for passenger and critical cargo operations.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo (above), CEO of RwandAir, said: “Now travel bans and restrictions are being relaxed, we can once again resume flying to and from London and Brussels and look forward to welcoming customers flying from Europe back to RwandAir.

“We have been operating cargo and repatriation flights from London Heathrow during the pandemic and we are now delighted to operate scheduled passenger flights for the first time into and out of one of Europe’s premier airports”, she added.

“The move will significantly benefit customers flying into Heathrow from other UK cities who then wish to fly on seamlessly to Rwanda and other parts of Africa. It has never been easier to reach Kigali or cities such as Nairobi, Entebbe, Lusaka and Harare for passengers travelling from London, she emphasized.”

 RwandAir suspended all flights on March 20 from Rwanda, except for freight-only flights to China, to carry critical medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other essential cargo.

Since 1st August, the airline has gradually resumed commercial flights across its global network including select African routes as well as some long-haul destinations such as Dubai.

Meanwhile Kenya Airways has signed a contract with APG as its new Passenger GSA in Europe.

Under the new agreement, APG will be providing wide-ranging sales and marketing activities for Kenya Airways as well as full customer and agent support in 39 European markets, including the Netherlands where the airline traditionally operates a daily service to Amsterdam.

Richard Burgess, President of APG Network said: “As a globally recognised airline with an excellent product and network, we are delighted to be partnering with Kenya Airways in Europe. The current aviation environment is of course challenging, but our offices in Europe are looking forward to creating a strong sales and operations structure for Kenya Airways to maximise sales as soon as the market returns.”

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