Qatar Airways has announced a resumption of services from the Kigali International Airport. According to official communication from the airline, it will restart its operations with three weekly flights. After reopening its airspace on August 1, Rwanda has allowed commercial airlines, most of which had suspended flights, to restart operations. Following the reopening, RwandAir, the national career, took the lead resuming flights on August 1. Qatar’s has also recently resumed flights to key destinations in Africa including Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Tunis. Speaking about their resumption in Kigali, the airline said they have “a strong relationship with Rwanda with eight years of operations to Kigali,” having begun scheduled services from Kigali in 2012. “We hope to see many people come visit Rwanda and explore the world’s stunning wildlife and more,” said Bennet Stephens, Qatar Airways Acting Vice-President, Middle East, Africa & Pakistan, speaking about the reopening of their operations to the country. The airline said it has further enhanced its onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew. It will provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses and a new protective gown that is fitted over their uniforms. This is in addition to a modified service that reduces interactions between passengers and the crew inflight has also been introduced. “On-board, all Qatar Airways passengers are now provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a zip lock pouch, they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel,” read a statement from Qatar Airways. “The airline has also introduced disposable face shields for adults and children. Passengers travelling from Hamad International Airport (HIA) will receive their face shields at the check-in counters, whereas, at other destinations, the face shields will be distributed at the boarding gates,” they added. The airline also said it will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination. “The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will be valid for two years from the date of issuance,” reads the statement. Qatar says it was one of the largest passenger carriers during the pandemic with a steady schedule that never dropped below 30 destinations. “We are delighted to resume flights to Kigali, totalling our flights to 33 weekly flights to Africa with eight destinations. Qatar Airways continues to maintain an expanding schedule with now more than 500 weekly flights to over 75 destinations,” Stephens said. “Our wide network of flights during these challenging times has ensured we have kept up to date with the latest in international airport procedures,” he added. “We also implemented the most advanced safety & hygiene measures onboard our aircraft and in our home and hub at Hamad International Airport which was recently voted the Best Airport in the Middle East for the sixth year in a row.”
