RwandAir the national carrier on December 2 launched direct flights to Lagos the commercial capital of Nigeria and West Africa in its effort to connect Kigali to the rest of the world.
The three weekly flights will depart from Kigali at 0830HRS (Local Time) and arrive in Lagos at 1140HRS (Local Time). The return flights depart from Lagos at 1330HRS (Local Time) to reach Kigali at 1840HRS
(Local Time).
The latest Rwandair Boeing 737-800 has already set off to Lagos to mark the first flight.
Lagos becomes the 13th destination to join the airlines rapidly growing network and the
fourth new destination this year after destinations including Gisenyi in the north, neighboring countries; Brazzaville-Congo and Libreville-Gabon.
The ceremony to inaugurate the flight was held in Abuja at a gala dinner that was attended by Rwanda senior government officials, business community and government officials from Nigeria among other guests.
RwandAir CEO John Mirenge present at the event said that Lagos route is part of the airlines commitment and plans to continue exploring the westward network expansion drive.
“At the beginning of the year, we made a commitment to expand our network with a focus on Central and West Africa. Lagos for us is an exciting addition to our network and we know the destination will have very positive contributions to the already existing network,” Mirenge pointed out. We are pleased to make this our first West African destination,” he added.
Mirenge further stated that the Nigerian Aviation Authorities had been very cooperative and responsive to the RwandAir request to fly to Lagos.
“From the time we declared our intentions to fly to Lagos, the Nigerian government and aviation authorities have been very swift and quick in welcoming us,”
Albert Nsengiyumva, the Minister of infrastructure said that aviation experts predicted that Lagos is poised to become an airline megacity in the next 20 years with the ability to handle over 10, 000 passengers per day.
“Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and Nigeria should be our number one partner in revolutionizing this sector,” Nsengiyumva remarked.
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