National carrier RwandAir is set to commence flights to Central Africa Republic’s capital Bangui as part of its recovery strategy from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

RwandAir will commence flights to Bangui, twice a week from February 3, with flights operating on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The airline says that the development is informed by identification of a lucrative market and is aimed at stimulating trade in the region.

"The launch of our new twice-weekly service to Bangui will open up a new lucrative market for RwandAir and help stimulate trade in the region and beyond Africa,” Yvonne Manzi Makolo, RwandAir Chief Executive said.

"We believe this new route will strengthen the growing trade ties in Africa and bolster Rwanda’s growing economy. Customers will benefit from more choice, through our premium onboard service, and will fly in a safe and hygienic environment thanks to our world-class cleaning measures.”

RwandAir resumed commercial flights in August 2020 across its global network, including most of its African routes, as well as some long-haul destinations such as London Heathrow, Brussels and Dubai.

The airline has resumed about 70 per cent of flights that were halted by the pandemic.

To ensure the health and safety amidst a pandemic, RwandAir has published a Five-Step Health & Safety Guide to provide for a clean and secure onboard experience.

To drive recovery, the government in the last budget increased funding to the national carrier to Rwf145.1 billion in the 2020/21 fiscal year, up from Rwf121.8 billion the previous financial year, citing that it will bring more muscle to help the airline respond to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.