RwandAir & Rwandan Aviation News 2026

[rwandan-flyer]

It seems RwandAir has added a midnight flight to Dar es Salaam via Nairobi. I’m not sure whether this will become a long-term part of the schedule or if it is simply a short-term arrangement caused by the current fleet constraints.

As for the fourth A330, I think they are expecting it soon. They plan to increase Paris to five weekly flights from Sunday, 23 August, and it would be difficult to operate that alongside the daily London service with only three A330s.

2026-08-18 00.09.28.jpg

Sometimes, they operate some routing, because they have canceled a flight and it's better for them to make a tag service, iso to send one aircraft especially when they have some aircraft in the maintenance.

They can operate Paris and London flights leave sometimes Kigali in middle of morning and flight to Bujumbura can be operated in the morning iso in the middle of afternoon.

Before Covid, DAR has red eyes flights but after they have removed red eyes. However sometimes they put red eyes flights to DAR but via Kilimanjaro. The red eyes flight to Nairobi is normally operated via Entebbe.

Yes, not a big demand, even if without surprise Guangzhou is the main market:

CAN: 12 872 pax a big drop vs 2024 (between 22 000 23 000 pax)
Shangaï: 2 095 pax
Hangzhou: 2 048 pax
Beijing Capital: 1 645 pax
Beijing Daxing: 1 456 pax
Chengdu: 1 407 pax

it made sense because most people have to go through Doha or ADD.

It's the point to point demand via all hubs, if RwandAir starts flights to China tomorrow, they will rely on these 2025 data.


The 3rd flight of the day added by Ethiopian last year to Kigali is mainly for India and China demand to and from Rwanda. ET flight leaves ADD at 9h and back to ADD at 14h. Then another flight leaves ADD at 15h and back at ADD at 19h. In the middle of the day you have inbound and outbound flights with China and India at ADD. Plus some flights to Europe (Rome, Istanbul, Athens) and Middle East (Dubaï, Amman if i m right, Tel Aviv). Enough to fill the B737-800 flying to Kigali, in the middle of the day.

Europe remains the biggest market for Rwanda. Asia is growing, but still low to attract more foreign airlines right now.

[musayann]

They have started operating the 5x weekly flights to Paris, but the current approach of shifting one flight between Paris and London to the following morning is quite frustrating for passengers. People originally book expecting a midnight departure, only to find their schedule moved to the next day.

Luckily, the 4th A330 was delivered today, so hopefully it enters service soon and sorts out the scheduling bottlenecks

Took a picture from a far as it was landing

[rwandan-flyer]

Thanks for the photo.

The airline states that this is the first of five set to join the fleet (no timeline has been provided).

It wears the registration 9XR-WS—a registration previously assigned to one of the two A330neos RwandAir was originally slated to receive.

https://x.com/FlyRwandAir/status/2091945938038239324

I remain quite skeptical about the large number of A330s they are set to acquire. Of course, there is the potential resumption of flights to India and China, increased service to Paris and the UK, and the possibility of putting the A330 back on the Dubai route. But is the airline cain financially sustain this ? I m not sure. Yes The Rwandan government will keep pouring money into RwandAir (at a loss)—yes, Rwanda aims to be a hub, but they need to be careful not to do anything rash. I hope Qatar Airways has advised RwandAir to calm down a bit—unless, of course, or probably this is actually QR's future strategy.

A video of the new Kigali airport filmed a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF5zU-MIsI0&t=438s

[rwandan-flyer]

KLM has once again delayed the resumption of its flights to Uganda, which have been suspended since June 2026. After various postponing in July and August, originally scheduled to resume for early September 2026, flights are now expected to resume on September 30, 2026.

Kigali is therefore still served without the Entebbe tag. KLM has increased its service to Kigali from three to four flights per week since this week, operated with A330-200 aircraft.

[convair]

KLM has once again delayed the resumption of its flights to Uganda, which have been suspended since June 2026. After various postponing in July and August, originally scheduled to resume for early September 2026, flights are now expected to resume on September 30, 2026.

Kigali is therefore still served without the Entebbe tag. KLM has increased its service to Kigali from three to four flights per week since this week, operated with A330-200 aircraft.

Did you notice SN's Entebbe flights benefiting from that absence?

[rwandan-flyer]

I don't know. EBB is also served by Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, Egytpair, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines. They provide good alternatives with the suspension of KLM flights


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I understand now why RwandAir was talking about five A330s joining the fleet.

RwandAir has updated its route map. Rome, Frankfurt, Manchester, and Jeddah are listed as future destinations, alongside the return of routes to Cape Town, Mumbai, and Guangzhou. However, Maputo and Luanda are no longer among the planned future destinations. https://www.rwandair.com/rwandair-route-map/

Aside from Jeddah and Yaoundé, I’m not really convinced by the other destinations. Rome, Cape Town, and Manchester look like potential failure. As for Mumbai, there are already too many airlines operating from East Africa. The same thing for Guangzhou.

Ethiopian has increased flights to certain West African cities, effectively offering twice-daily service to Mumbai. Then there’s Etihad entering the West African market.

About Frankfurt and Rome (which I assume will be a Kigali-Rome-Frankfurt tag flight), I don't understand—unless it's to capture strong demand for Nairobi (many Italians travel to the East Coast, specifically Malindi and Lamu), Mombasa, and Zanzibar, but that market is already crowded. They will likely need to sign agreements with ITA and Lufthansa to pick up passengers via FRA and FCO.

Jeddah makes sense; there is strong demand between Saudi Arabia and both East and West Africa.

Yaoundé is another one that makes sense. NSI (Yaoundé) is less well-served than Douala. Kenya Airways has dropped its route there. Ethiopian remains the main alternative for travel to the Middle East and Asia. RwandAir could pick up some passengers, with its partnership with Qatar—and perhaps on European routes as well.

I’m very skeptical about this expansion plan. The airline doesn't have the financial muscle for it, though, but the Rwandan taxpayer is paying the bill ((even though Rwanda is known for quite effectively channeling revenue from tourism and air transport into healthcare or education)). Rwanda needs an airline, but right now, the strategy seems a bit weired.

[Delta Sierra]

Any idea how the flight out of Brussels is doing?

When I was near the boarding gate yesterday, I didn’t see any passengers. A little later, I saw a few passengers boarding the flight.

[freakyboy2021]

I don't know. EBB is also served by Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, Egytpair, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines. They provide good alternatives with the suspension of KLM flights


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I understand now why RwandAir was talking about five A330s joining the fleet.

RwandAir has updated its route map. Rome, Frankfurt, Manchester, and Jeddah are listed as future destinations, alongside the return of routes to Cape Town, Mumbai, and Guangzhou. However, Maputo and Luanda are no longer among the planned future destinations. https://www.rwandair.com/rwandair-route-map/

Aside from Jeddah and Yaoundé, I’m not really convinced by the other destinations. Rome, Cape Town, and Manchester look like potential failure. As for Mumbai, there are already too many airlines operating from East Africa. The same thing for Guangzhou.

Ethiopian has increased flights to certain West African cities, effectively offering twice-daily service to Mumbai. Then there’s Etihad entering the West African market.

About Frankfurt and Rome (which I assume will be a Kigali-Rome-Frankfurt tag flight), I don't understand—unless it's to capture strong demand for Nairobi (many Italians travel to the East Coast, specifically Malindi and Lamu), Mombasa, and Zanzibar, but that market is already crowded. They will likely need to sign agreements with ITA and Lufthansa to pick up passengers via FRA and FCO.

Jeddah makes sense; there is strong demand between Saudi Arabia and both East and West Africa.

Yaoundé is another one that makes sense. NSI (Yaoundé) is less well-served than Douala. Kenya Airways has dropped its route there. Ethiopian remains the main alternative for travel to the Middle East and Asia. RwandAir could pick up some passengers, with its partnership with Qatar—and perhaps on European routes as well.

I’m very skeptical about this expansion plan. The airline doesn't have the financial muscle for it, though, but the Rwandan taxpayer is paying the bill ((even though Rwanda is known for quite effectively channeling revenue from tourism and air transport into healthcare or education)). Rwanda needs an airline, but right now, the strategy seems a bit weired.

i will miss ABJ and BKO.

[rwandan-flyer]

BKO was never served, alony Abidjan and Dakar but from their Cotonou base.

Impacted by the Iran-Israel-United States conflict, Qatar Airways pilots are being sent to RwandAir. These are A330 pilots, as Qatar Airways has retired its last A330s.

RwandAir, expanding its A330 fleet, needs pilots. Job postings have been available on the RwandAir website since at least the beginning of summer.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... e=Facebook

Speaking about Qatar, following the Pakistan-Rwanda Forum, the Pakistani ambassador to Rwanda discussed the possibility of establishing flights between Rwanda and Pakistan. He added that this would also facilitate connections to larger markets in Africa and South Asia. I mentioned the visit of the Rwandan ambassador to Pakistan to Air Sial a year ago (viewtopic.php?p=442021&hilit=air+sial#p442021).

He explained that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) had been signed in the aviation sector. Negotiations are still underway and should take up to a year. The ambassador is proposing, for example, that RwandAir extend its Doha route to Pakistan. Personally, even with a tag service and 5th freedom rights, I don't see a route to Pakistan being successful, at least in a short or medium term. Long term, why not if demand will grow.

https://en.igihe.com/business/article/r ... ies-expand

[freakyboy2021]

WB will not extend its DOH to Pakistan because lack of aircrafts.

[rwandan-flyer]

In deed they still stuggling with their B737-800s even if one them came bak from Amman last week. However the night flight to Johannesburg is currently suspended. Only the daylight flight still operating.

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Work on the new Kigali airport has noticeably accelerated over the past few months. This video was shot two weeks ago. It is interesting to note that, with the terminal under construction, more and more photos and videos are appearing.

The airport is located at an altitude of 1,400 meters—88 meters lower than Kigali Airport. The runway will be 4,500 meters long, compared to 3,500 meters for the current Kigali airport.

I can imagine the aviation enthusiast who will enjoy this view once they move in. For the past three or four years, numerous agencies have been offering land—or already built houses—for purchase, for several reasons:

The airport will create new jobs.
An industrial business zone is under construction ("Airport City": https://www.topafricanews.com/2026/06/2 ... d-tourism/), in addition to the Bugesera Special Economic Zone, which is already operational (https://bsez-rwanda.com/).
Nyamata has a painful history regarding the Genocide against the Tutsi (and the massacres that preceded it). It was one of Rwanda's poorest regions in the years following the Genocide against the Tutsi. However, the area is now developing, driven largely by tourism and industry. The town is located 118 km from the Tanzanian border—a drive of about two and a half hours—and 20–30 km from Burundi. Incidentally, a small airfield is visible on Google Earth near the town of Nemba. Photos here too, including one taken from a crane: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/threads/ ... -199259539

More videos here, showing the interior of the terminal under construction: https://www.youtube.com/@Bricejoique-v1j. Apparently, the videos aren't visible if you don't have an account. It works for me on YouTube using Mozilla, where I'm logged in. On Chrome, I'm not logged in, and it says the video is unavailable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsVVY7IFWc8&t=214s