The national carrier, RwandAir has announced it will launch its direct flights to London in the United Kingdom on May 26 2017, through London Gatwick International Airport.

In a press statement, the airline said they will fly to London three times a week.

London, one of the world’s leading financial hubs becomes RwandAir’s first European and second long haul route.

The destination will be served by the newly acquired Airbus A330 fleet in a triple class configuration with inflight connectivity.

"We are delighted to enable new and seamless connections between London and the whole of our network offering our esteemed customers a differentiated product in terms of comfort, good customer services and affordability", said John Mirenge, the CEO of RwandAir.

RwandAir has already announced that flights to Mumbai, India and Harare, Zimbabwe which will commence in the first week of April.

London will be RwandAir’s twenty-second (22) destination.

Last year, the airline launched commercial flights to Cotonou in Benin and Abidjan in Ivory Coast as part of its strategy to expand its footprint and enhance connectivity in West Africa.

Presently, the airline operates about 19 destinations, including Nairobi, Entebbe, Mombasa, Bujumbura, Lusaka, Juba, Douala, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Cotonou, Johannesburg, Dubai, Lagos, Libreville and Brazzaville.

RwandAir is IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certified.

The globally-recognised and accepted evaluation certification confirms that the airline’s operational management and control systems meet international civil aviation safety and other standards.