Qatar Airways Cargo Launches Kigali Africa Hub with RwandAir

Qatar Airways Cargo’s Chief Officer, Guillaume Halleux, and Yvonne Makolo, Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir, officially launched operations of the Kigali Africa Hub with the arrival of Qatar Airways Cargo Moved by People Boeing 777 freighter at Kigali International Airport

The Boeing 777 aircraft will fly from Doha to Kigali, twice a week. Since March, Qatar Airways Cargo has created an intra-Africa service between Kigali and Lagos (three times per week), and a weekly service from Istanbul via Doha to Kigali, all operated by an Airbus A310 aircraft.

Qatar Airways Cargo currently serves 28 cities in Africa with a mixture of freighter and belly-hold services, carrying up to 2,800  tonnes to and from Africa.

The launch of Qatar Airways Cargo’s first cargo hub outside Qatar, and in collaboration with RwandAir, creates a strong foundation on which to expand a future-oriented African air cargo network and meet the 3%-5% annual economic growth forecast for the continent over the next decade.

New destinations from Kigali will be announced soon.

Qatar Airways Cargo Enhances 'Courier' Service to Maximise Efficiency

In the run-up to the Kigali Cargo Hub launch, QAS Cargo, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways, provided consultancy support to RwandAir Cargo to help improve its cargo handling performance.

A team from QAS Cargo visited the cargo handling facilities and presented RwandAir with a detailed action plan for operational improvements and handling performance.

The team is now working together on a future roadmap, including a proposed improvement plan for its warehouse infrastructure, which will form part of a long-term strategic plan for the cargo division of RwandAir.

Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said: “Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, yet for it to develop to its full potential requires investment in logistics infrastructures.

"Qatar and Rwanda have long-enjoyed bilateral trade agreements, with both Qatar Airways and Qatar Investment Authority having previously invested in Kigali International Airport and RwandAir.

"It was therefore a logical step that Qatar Airways Cargo supports RwandAir in its cargo ambitions. Our customers will benefit from both a reliable intra-African network through our Kigali hub, as well as enhanced service levels and cost synergies."

Yvonne Makolo, CEO of RwandAir , said: “We are very proud to partner with Qatar Airways Cargo to launch today the brand new Kigali Cargo Hub to open up new cargo opportunities across Africa.

“Together in partnership, RwandAir and Qatar Airways Cargo have created a fantastic new facility to meet this growing demand across Africa to further generate the business boom which will power economies in every corner of the continent.”

More African destinations are due to be added to the network at a later stage.

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