According to CEO Yvonne Macolo, Rwandair (WB, Kigali) is changing its strategic focus on expanding East and South Africa routes as part of a broader plan to increase flight frequency across the continent.
New Times, Rwanda's largest media house, reports that Makoro is the bystander of the African Aviation Association (AFRAA) 13th Aviation Stakeholders Convention and the 2nd African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit, held in Kigali from May 12-14, 2025.
Makoro said the airline is aiming to take advantage of underserved destinations with direct flights to Mombasa (Kenya) and Zanzibar (Tanzania). She explained that the move is attempting to mitigate the losses that have been caused as Dr. Congo's airspace is closed to Rwandan aircraft.
Makoro has revealed that airlines have been forced to halt routes to Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), Abuja (Nigeria) and Kotonou Kazihorn (Benin) as a result of the ban. However, she said, “We have placed that ability on more eastern and south routes in terms of introducing additional frequencies, and are considering opening new routes. The immediate routes are Mombasa and Zanzibar. We would like to focus more on eastern and south routes of the continent until the problem is resolved,” she said.
Rwanda's national airlines currently serve 21 destinations in 18 countries and work on 28 routes.
Macolo said the airline plans to double its fleet from 14 aircraft within five years to maintain revenue growth. The current in-house fleet consists of a combination of corporate owned and leased aircraft, according to data from CH-Aviation Fleets, including two A330-200S, one A330-300, one B737-300, five B737-800, one B737-800 (SF) fly vessels, two CRJ900s and two DHC-8-8-Q400S.
Economically, Rwandare has increased its revenue of RWF620.6 billion Rwandan Franc (USD 435.5 million) by 82% in 2023, reversing the decline from RWF34.1 billion (USD 239 million) in 2022.
Macolo emphasized that operating costs and high ticket prices in Africa are attributable to expensive fuel, taxes, airport charges, maintenance and overflight charges. To address this, airlines are engaged with airports and governments and taking internal measures to improve cost-effectiveness. These include adopting more fuel-efficient flight practices and streamlining fleets to reduce aircraft diversity.
