Kigali, Rwanda, Qatar Airways have launched the 17th destination in Africa, daily scheduled flights to Rwanda. The arrival of flight QR 536 to Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali takes the airline’s African network capacity up to 132 passenger flights each week.

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer  flew on the inaugural service from Doha, was received at the airport by Rwanda’s  Minister of Infrastructure, Albert Nsengiyumva and other ministers and guests

Al Baker stated: “We have extended our reach to yet another underserved market with today’s launch of flights to Kigali. I would like to thank the Rwandan government, the local airport authority and the people of Rwanda for supporting Qatar Airways’ entry to this beautiful country.
“The direct daily air link between my home city of Doha and Kigali is further testament to Qatar Airways’ commitment to expanding our presence in Africa and East Africa in particular, a dynamic region to where we already fly twice daily to both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and daily to Entebbe.

“Our newest route connects the mineral rich Rwandan landscape with the energy rich nation of Qatar, neighbouring Gulf states and cities around the world,” added Al Baker, stressing that Africa continued to be a focus of growth for Qatar Airways this year as it plans further expansion across the Continent.”

 Albert Nsengiyumva, the Rwanda, Minister of Infrastructure added: “The coming of Qatar Airways signals mutual development which will have a positive impact on the economic growth of both Rwanda and Qatar,” he said, adding that the CEO’s leadership of the award-winning airline was highly commendable.”
In recent months, Qatar Airways launched new African services to Benghazi in Libya and the Ugandan city of Entebbe, with a further three route start-ups planned over the next few months – Mombasa in Kenya, and both Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar in Tanzania.

Rwanda is fast emerging as a growing economic centre, forming strong trade links with Europe and the Far East, thanks largely to its rich mineral resources. The country’s economy is largely based on agriculture but has thriving mineral and tourism industries.

The addition of daily flights to the Rwandan capital Kigali takes Qatar Airways’ East African coverage, including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, up to 42 flights every week.

Other destinations currently served across Africa from Doha are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, Khartoum, Seychelles, Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria, Benghazi, Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis and Casablanca.

During 2012, the airline’s expansion will also include new routes from Doha to Perth (Australia), Zagreb (Croatia), Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Helsinki (Finland), Belgrade (Serbia), Erbil (Iraq), Baghdad (Iraq) and Yangon (Myanmar). Apart from Kigali, the carrier last month launched flights to the Azerbaijan capital Baku and Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi.

The Doha–Entebbe–Kigali schedules (timing will vary from March 25 in accordance with the start of the Northern Summer Timetable):

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Depart Doha               QR536 at 0800 hrs, arrive Entebbe at 1330 hrs
Depart Entebbe           QR536 at 1430 hrs, arrive Kigali at 1425 hrs

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Depart Doha               QR538 at 0115 hrs, arrive Entebbe at 0645 hrs
Depart Entebbe          QR538 at 0745 hrs, arrive Kigali at 0740 hrs

The Kigali–Entebbe–Doha schedules (timing will vary from March 25 in accordance with the start of the Northern Summer Timetable):

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
Depart Kigali               QR537 at 1525 hrs, arrive Entebbe at 1720 hrs
Depart Entebbe           QR537 at 1820 hrs, arrive Doha at 2325 hrs

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Depart Kigali               QR539 at 1120 hrs, arrive Entebbe at 1315 hrs
Depart Entebbe           QR539 at 1415 hrs, arrive Doha at 1920 hrs

Source: Qatar Airways