Rwand Air has flagged-off its Abuja-Kigali flights, offering passengers from Nigeria’s political capital opportunity to connect to its global route network.
This is in addition to the daily Lagos-Kigali flight separately operated by the carrier.
The airline would operate to the city four times weekly from its base in Kigali, Rwanda.
Ms. Ibiyemi Odusi, the Country Manager, RwandAir told journalists in Abuja that the new service would provide opportunity for government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and other players in the public and private sectors to connect flight from Abuja directly to other routes on the airline’s network.
Odusi said the new flight was positioned to allow Nigerians have more travel options from the nation’s political capital to destinations flown by Rwand Air, assuring that the Nigerian passengers would benefit from the route network flown by Rwand Air from Abuja.
She said with right product pricing, scheduling planning and other unique selling points at the disposal of Rwand Air, it intended to grow traffic on the route to about 80 per cent load factor in the next six months.
Odusi said since 2012 when Rwand Air commenced operations in Nigeria, it continued to consolidate from its hub in Kigali to Dubai, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Accra, London, Brussels and other routes on its network.
She also lauded Sen. Hadi Sirika, Minister of State for Aviation, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other top government officials for making the day’s inaugural flight a success.
Also speaking, Stanislas Kamanzi, Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Nigeria,said the extension of flight service between the two cities would boost trade relations between the two countries.
He said the Abuja-Kigali service would now provide seamless travel window for diplomats and government officials, investors and private sector players who want to explore opportunities for trade, commerce and other bilateral activities.
Kamanzi lauded aviation and diplomatic authorities for granting the right permits and approvals that has led to the consolidation of flights between the two countries.
Also speaking at the event, Hajara Musa, International Terminal Manager, FAAN, Abuja Airport, assured that the authority would assist Rwand Air in every area that would make its operations smooth.
She’s said FAAN would continue to provide the necessary facilities that would make the airline have seamless services out of Abuja Airport as it continues to do for all airlines.
Captain Sam Masaba, the pilot in command of the Boeing 737- 700 aircraft said he was excited to fly Rwand Air passengers into Abuja from Kigali
