Kudos to RwandAir; please spread your wings to Mumbai, India, too

Editor,I was very pleased to have read in the June 10’s edition of The New Times about RwandAir launching flights to Accra, Ghana.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
A RwandAir plane: The airline launched flights to Accra, Ghana recently. The New Times / File.

Editor,I was very pleased to have read in the June 10’s edition of The New Times about RwandAir launching flights to Accra, Ghana.Please allow me to express, through your paper, my hearty congratulations to John Mirenge, Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir, and his team for regularly adding new routes to the airline’s network and thereby helping to keep the Rwandan flag flying high.Air connectivity is a key contributing factor towards enhancing trade, tourism and investments between countries. Recently, we had a 27 member Indian delegation which travelled to Kigali for an interesting programme - India Show 2013.The delegates, however, had to fly via either  Nairobi (Kenya), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) or Doha (Qatar). This naturally increases the flying time into the country.When will RwandAir fly to Mumbai? With direct flight connectivity, there is bound to be a sharp increase in visitor arrivals – both for business and also for tourism. This direct connection will also facilitate the process of making Rwanda a "hub for the EAC region”.The Indian Merchants’ Chamber, a Premier Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the country, would be happy to support RwandAir in whatever way possible, should they decide to add India’s business capital to their ever expanding route network. Thank you and once again, congratulations to the hardworking team at RwandAir.Clarence FernandesCo-ChairmanTravel & Tourism CommitteeIndian Merchants’ Chamber