Rwanda's national carrier, RwandAir switched from Gatwick to Heathrow Airport for its London operations in the wake of the resumption of commercial air travel after months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The management of London Heathrow airport has last week announced and welcomed the carrier as a new operator at the airport. It wrote in a tweet: "We're delighted to welcome the newest member of our airline family, @FlyRwandAir... Flights will operate twice-weekly, reconnecting the UK with Rwanda for passengers and critical cargo operations."
According to the officials, the change of airports is expected to improve connectivity for RwandAir passengers considering that Heathrow serves more international airlines from across the world.
Heathrow Airport, which is counted among the 10 busiest airports in the world, is used by over 90 airlines including major carriers flying to over 185 destinations in more than 90 countries, compare to Gatwick Airport which serves over 45 airlines.
The higher number of airlines at Heathrow means that RwandAir passengers will have more convenient connectivity to any destination across the world, the officials say.
As the biggest airport in the UK and one of the busiest in the world, RwandAir will be better positioned and ideal exposure be a choice for passengers seeking to connect to any of its destinations.
At Heathrow, RwandAir will have better slots, better connectivity as it serves more international airlines.The Carrier's Chief Executive Yvonne Makolo told The New Times.
Makolo added that "The developement is very good for our passengers because it connects them to the Europe, North American countries, among other countries they are going. Which was not necessarily the case while at Gatwick because of the slots we had."
The development also puts RwandAir in an ideal position to be more competitive as it will be more advantageous for passengers due to ease of connection to any global destination and pave way for easier travel and trade between the UK and Rwanda.
The officials added that, the switch is a welcmome idea as it is more timely with Rwanda's hosting of CHOGM and later chairing the commonwealth.
CHOGM is the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that is slated for Kigali in June next year, after which Rwanda will take over from the United Kingdom as the chair of the 54-nation block.
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