Rwandair is focusing on developing routes to New York, London and Harare as part of its network expansion strategy. As a result, the airline has also decided to delay the launch of its Kigali-Guangzhou flights.

Country Manager of RwandAir South Africa, Thembela Dladla, said: “Flights to Guangzhou will no longer take place for the time being, as we are prioritising the development of other routes such as London, New York and Harare.” Thembela confirmed that the launch of Kigali-Durban and Kigali-Washington, DC flights was still on the cards with final launch dates yet to be confirmed.

From April 5, the airline will commence flights from Johannesburg to Mumbai via Kigali.

Dladla said the airline’s Johannesburg flights had seen significant growth year-on-year in comparison to previous years. “We see a mixture of both leisure and corporate travellers on our Johannesburg route, with a majority of business travellers.” He said this was because the airline’s network included business centres across the continent like Nairobi, Lagos, Kigali and Lusaka.

The airline’s leisure destinations, such as Kilimanjaro, Mombasa and Rwanda, had also grown in popularity, said Dladla. “As much as Rwanda is business orientated, it is an upcoming leisure destination for South Africans as a consequence of the several exclusive resorts that opened in the country.”