African carrier RwandAir’s first non-stop Kigali to London flight landed at Heathrow today (Monday).
The airline has been operating flights to London via Brussels for five years.
The new non-stop Airbus A330 service has been introduced to cater for demand.
Flights operate from Heathrow to the Rwandan capital four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with economy fares starting at £636 and £2,299 in business class.
The airline has flown between London and Kigali since May 2017 via an indirect service stopping in Brussels, having originally started flying from Gatwick.
Flights were switched to Heathrow in 2020 to help to improve connections for travellers.
UK country manager Simon Rickman said: “The UK is an incredibly important market for RwandAir as we know these new non-stop services will prove very popular with our customers, who will highly value our shorter journey times and increased connections to onward destinations across Africa.”
Heathrow chief commercial officer Ross Baker added:“We are delighted to see RwandAir expand their operations by launching a new non-stop route linking London and Kigali through Heathrow, the UK’s hub airport.
“It is fantastic that demand for travel is increasing again, boosting connectivity for passengers and cargo.”