Egypt Air announces Kigali service as Rwandair spreads wings to Kinshasa

April 4, 2019 in Business, Companies, Foreign News, Travel & Tourism by Editor

North African carrier Egypt Air will start a twice weekly service to Kigali starting April 27, while Kinshasa is set to become Rwandair’s 27 destination starting April 17, according to announcements made this week.

Egypt Air’s rotations to Kigali will be on Thursdays and Saturday’s while the return flights will be on Friday and Sunday. Departures from Cairo will be at 9.40pm local, arriving in Kigali at 2.40am local. The aircraft will turnaround at 3.20 am Kigali time for the return leg which will touch down in Cairo at 9.35am local, Egyptair said on April 3.

In a related development, Rwandair on April 2, announced plans to mount flights to Kinshasa starting April 17. The service thrice weekly daytime service that will start with a Boeing 737NG will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. These will be complemented by another three night time flights starting May. The night service will be operated using a Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGen.

“We are proud to add Kinshasa to our network and to offer both passengers and cargo services,” said Rwandair chief executive Yvonne Manzi Makolo.

Kinshasa is the second African destination that Rwandair will be launching this month after Addis Ababa. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a bilateral services agreement BASA last month.

With the exception of Burundi, Egypt Air’s Kigali service will give it a near complete presence in the East African Community. The carrier already operates a thrice weekly service to Entebbe where it has been in service for more than 25 years.