RwandAir connects Mumbai-Kigali with direct flight

Rwanda's RwandAir has launched a direct flight connecting Mumbai with Kigali, the capital of the east African nation, a Mumbai airport official said on Monday.

The flight will be operated every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing Kigali at 12.35 a.m. (Rwandan time) and arriving Mumbai at 11.05 p.m. (IST).

On the return sector, it will depart Mumbai 1.45 a.m. (IST) every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and reach Kigali at 5.15 a.m. (Rwandan time). Rwanda is three and a half hours behind India.

An initiative of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), the flights will be operated on Boeing 737-800 aircraft in dual class cabin configuration.

A CSMIA spokesperson said that passenger and trade between Mumbai and Africa has always been significant with Mumbai serving as a gateway to the continent with 70 percent capacity deployed between India and Africa.

Last year, nearly 800,000 passengers travelled between Mumbai and African countries with an eight percent annual growth rate.

The new RwandAir four-times a week flight is expected to significantly boost business and tourism between India and Rwanda, the spokesperson said.

--IANS

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