16-05-2025
RwandAir abandons West Africa routes for Mombasa, Zanzibar
Rwanda's national carrier has been forced to abandon three of its West African routes due to the cost of operating them following a ban by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from using its airspace.
RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo, while addressing the press in Kigali, termed the DRC airspace blockade for Rwanda a 'very unfortunate' politicisation of aviation.'We had to suspend some of our routes, like Brazzaville, Abuja and Cotonou because the flight time became a bit long, but we are putting that capacity more on the Eastern and Southern routes in terms of additional frequencies,' she said.
Read: DRC airspace ban will be costly for RwandAir, experts say'And we are looking at opening new routes. The first ones that are coming are Mombasa and Zanzibar. Until the issue is resolved, we shall focus more on the Eastern and Southern parts of the continent.'The airspace ban was imposed in February 2025, targeting Rwandan civil and state aircraft, citing 'a situation of insecurity due to armed conflict,' two weeks after the M23 rebels captured Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, in a bloody offensive that left more than 3,000 people dead.
Although the total financial cost of the airspace ban is yet to be quantified, it goes without saying that closing such crucial West African routes has exposed RwandAir to losses.
The delayed conclusion of the share acquisition deal between RwandAir and Qatar Airways has also derailed the airline's growth plan and exposed it to inefficiencies.
The deal, announced in 2020, allows Qatar Airways to buy up to 49 percent of stake in RwandAir and a 60 percent stake in the soon-to-be completed Bugesera Airport. But, the negotiations have dragged on, and five years down, the deal is yet to be concluded.'The Qatar Airways partnership is still in progress, we were hoping to have it signed about a month ago, but it's still a work in progress,' Ms Makolo said. 'It's a bit complicated -- when you are doing this with an operating airline, there is a lot of due diligence that goes into it. But we are still confident that we shall see the conclusion of it, I am looking forward to it in the coming months.'Under the deal, RwandAir had expected additional aircraft to bolster its fleet. But, five years later, it still has 12 passenger planes, which is too few to match its ambitions.
Passengers have been complaining about flight cancellations, particularly on long-haul routes such as Brussels and London, as the airline grapples with its limited fleet.
Read: RwandAir to launch daily flights to LondonMs Makolo said that Rwandair had had to shelve plans for a direct flight to the US, which had been in the cards before Covid-19 disrupted the aviation industry.'But we are able to access up to five US cities through a codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways. We connect our passengers via Doha to the US. We are still looking to see if a direct flight to the US is feasible down the road,' she said.
For years, the airline has been riding on financial injection from government. According to government data, between 2013 and 2016, RwandAir incurred accumulated losses of $222 million, while receiving $192 million in government grants.
The Rwanda Fiscal Risk Statement (FRS) report shows that for the financial year 2024/25, RwandAir recorded an 82 percent increase in total revenues, rising to Rwf620.6 billion ($430 million) in 2023, from Rwf341 billion ($236.23 million) in 2022.
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