Rwanda welcomes Air Uganda

Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says they welcome Air Uganda to fly passengers in and out of Kigali International Airport.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says they welcome Air Uganda to fly passengers in and out of Kigali International Airport.

"It (Air Uganda) is welcome. Though they have not expressed interest yet,” CAA managing director Joshua Mbaraga said on phone.

The Ugandan registered airline is targeting commercial flights out of Entebbe targeting the Nairobi, Southern Sudan regional capital, Juba destinations.

"Apparently it is only Rwandair Express connecting passengers to Entebbe daily using a Boeing WB106. But if Air Uganda is to come, this will mean competition for passengers on the route.

However, Rwandair is says they are ready for the competition.
Manzi Kayihura, the chief executive officer of Rwandair, said the only way to position themselves against such competition from  Air Uganda if happens to comes, is by having an agreement on route sharing. Manzi also said they are not venturing into new routes yet.

"We have no intentions of to increasing our routes to other destinations”, said Manzi.

Rwandair has five destinations from Rwanda. They include Entebbe, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Bujumbura, and Kilimanjaro with one inland flight to Cyangugu.

According to The Daily Monitor, a Ugandan daily, Air Uganda will be the fifth Ugandan-based airline to launch operations out of Entebbe International Airport after the collapse of Uganda Airlines. It made test flights to Nairobi on Saturday and to Kilimanjaro on Sunday.  

Ends