RwandAir will resume flights to and from London and Brussels to Kigali from October 3rd as it reinstates its passenger network.

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 at 01:00 local time and operate using an A330 twin-aisle aircraft.

Flights will initially resume on a twice-weekly basis, before increasing to three-times-weekly from October 25th, reconnecting the UK with Rwanda for passenger and critical cargo operations.

Yvonne Manzi Makolo, chief executive 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 20th, 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 1st, 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.