Royal Air Maroc, the Morocco national carrier, will start direct flights between Casablanca and Kigali in March, Abdelilah Benryane, the envoy of the Kingdom of Morroco resident in Nairobi, said last week. 

He said Rwandan and Moroccan aviation authorities are working together to finalise the necessary paperwork so that the airline starts flights as planned.

The entry of Royal Air Maroc Express will bring the number of commercial airlines that serve Kigali International Airport to 12, including RwandAir, Kenya Airlines, Qatar, Fly Dubai, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopia Airlines and KLM, among others.

The North African airline’s entry will increase competition in the regional aviation industry, observers say.

However, the development is a boost to government’s efforts geared at transforming Kigali into an aviation hub in the region, according to the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) officials.

Kigali International Airport (KIA) received about 580,505 passengers in the first 11 months of 2015, an increasse of 6 per cent compared to 568,981 passengers who went through the airport during the same period in 2014.

Tony Barigye, the RCAA communications manager, attributed the growth to rising demand by domestic and international passengers. The airport received 263,264 international and domestic arrivals in 2008.

The airport targets over one million arrivals in the medium to long-term, especially as the country increases initiatives to attract more tourists.

KIA was upgraded and expanded under a $17.8 million rehabilitation and expansion project that was concluded last year.

Under the project, the interior of the terminal building was given a ‘more appealing’ architectural outlook, and expanded to handle 1.5 million passengers per year.

It was part of government‘s increased investment in the aviation industry to support a growing tourism sector, regional and continental trade and hence spur growth.

There are currently ongoing works to expand the airports runway.

The government plans to build other airports, like the Bugesera International Airport, and Rubavu Airport in Western Province.

Government also established a new company to manage the aviation industry activities as it moved to streamline and make it more vibrant and competitive. The Aviation, Travel and Logistics Limited was approved by the Cabinet in October last year, and will manage aviation activities including travel, logistics, ground, freight and cargo handling, and charter services.

KIA has been ranked among the best airports in the region, while Canadian aviation website ranked it the fifth-best airport in Africa this year. Another survey by UK-based consultancy firm, Skytrax, ranked it seventh in Africa and the best airport in East Africa in 2014. business@newtimes.co.rw