Kigali – 25^th September, 2020 – The National carrier RwandAir will restart its commercial passenger flights to and from Harare, Zimbabwe on Friday, 2^nd October 2020.The National flag carrier will also resume regular flights to and from London (UK) and Brussels (Belgium) to Kigali from Saturday 3^rd October respectively.

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.

The inaugural RwandAir service from Kigali to Brussels and London Heathrow will depart on October 3 at 1:00 AM local time and operate using an A330 twin-aisle aircraft. For Brussels and London Heathrow routes, flights will initially resume on a twice-weekly basis, before increasing to three-times-weekly from 25 October, 2020 reconnecting the UK with Rwanda for passenger and critical cargo operations.

Also RwandAir will operate commercial flights to and from Harare to Kigali, flying four times a week.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, 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.

“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.”

From March 20 through to July 31, RwandAir suspended all flights from Rwanda, with the exception of freight-only flights to China, to carry critical medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other essential cargo.

Since August 1, 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. The Harare, Brussels and London flights follow a series of other flights that RwandAir has reopened, including Dubai, Lusaka, Libreville, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Douala, Cotonou, Libreville, Kinshasa, Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria as well as Kamembe destinations.

RwandAir has been working hard to prepare for the return of its customers from around the world, and has published a Five-Step Health & Safety Guide to ensure a clean and secure welcome back on board.

As it ramps up its passenger operations, RwandAir will continue to keep its schedules under constant review, so it can respond quickly and responsibly to customer demand – as well as the changing COVID-19 situation for travel.