Rwanda’s national carrier, RwandAir, continues to expand its network with a new link from its primary hub at Kigali International Airport to N’djili International Airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) capital, Kinshasa.
The three-times-weekly service is due to start on 17 April and will be operated by a Boeing 737-800NG with 136 seats in economy and 15 seats in business class. The service will be flown on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
From May, RwandAir plans to operate three additional night flights a week to the Congolese capital with a CRJ-900NextGen aircraft, offering 75 passenger seats.
The deal was sealed this week, as officials from both countries signed a bilateral service air agreement that will allow the Rwandan carrier to fly to Kinshasa.
DRC is a strategic trading partner with Rwanda and the route is viable for both passenger and cargo business, according to Yvonne Manzi Makolo, RwandAir’s CEO.
“We are very proud to add Kinshasa to our network and to offer both passenger and cargo services,” said Makolo. “This new route will support our growth and increase our footprint in Africa. We also believe the addition of Kinshasa will boost business and strengthen commercial ties between the two countries,” she added.
The third-largest urban area in Africa after Lagos and Cairo, Kinshasa will be the 23rd African destination for RwandAir, extending its global network to 27 destinations. The carrier is also adding Luanda (Angola), Tel Aviv (Israel), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Guangzhou (China) to its network this year.
