- The Rwandan national airliner, Rwandair Express has signed a partnership with Brussels Airlines to have access to the European market. The partnership comes just a week after the European Union updated its list of banned airlines into the EU due to safety concerns.
According to a communiqué issued by the Belgian airliner, Rwanda's national airline will sell tickets on flights to the European capital giving Rwandair an opportunity to penetrate the Belgian market and while also helping Brussels Airlines reinforce its position on the African market.
The airliners which have began offering codeshare flights between Belgium and Rwanda since 31 March, said the agreement would not only offer direct connection between Brussels and Kigali, but also to other African and European destinations through Kigali or Brussels.
“This new partnership with a local Rwandan airline clearly shows how important the African and, more specific, the Rwandan market is for Brussels Airlines,” the statement read.
The commercial deal between Brussels Airlines and Rwandair Express enables the Rwandan airline to sell 10 seats in economy class on all 3 weekly flights between Kigali and Brussels, operated by Brussels Airlines.
All 3 weekly codeshare flights will be operated by the Belgian airline with one of their 4 Airbuses 330-300.
According to the statement, the partnership also offers Rwandair clients the flexibility of booking online or buying tickets through any of the Rwandair offices in Eastern or Southern Africa and fly out to Brussels direct from Kigali on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Brussels Airlines is owned by SN Airholding and is backed up by more than 80 years of aviation experience in Belgium.
The latest blacklist by the EU which also covers Rwanda is the tenth update first drawn up by the EU in March 2006 with more than 90 airlines mainly from Africa having been banned. The ban already covers carriers from nations including Angola, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and other Asian countries.
The EU imposed harsh measures on passenger carriers following airline crashes in 2004 and 2005 that killed hundreds of European travelers.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.