When RwandAir started flying to London 5 or so years ago, I shared my excitement and optimism through this esteemed publication. I shared how people used to traverse many geographical territories to reach this beautiful land of ours. I wrote how I felt it would open up new opportunities, a new market for Rwandan products, new connections, new networking opportunities between Rwandans, the British people in particular and Europeans in general.
A lot has happened since then, in the above mentioned areas. RwandAir has opened up Rwanda to the world and connected Rwandans to other global citizens. It has unlocked trade between Rwanda and other countries. It has made more foreigners-tourists, business people and many other categories of visitors- visit and know Rwanda, and made Rwandans more proud of their country. I have been on WB700 and WB701 flights several times and I always feel a sense of pride whenever I listen to "Bagenzi bacu bahire......" ( our esteemed travellers) Kinyarwanda announcements over European skies. RwandAir made it much easier for CHOGM22 delegates to come to Rwanda, and that was the proudest moment for all of us.
Five years ago marked the first time ever a Rwanda national flag carrier connected the two capitals- Kigali and London. That was a first!
Now Rwandair has done it again..broke its own record.
WB700 and WB701 flights stopped over in Brussels before proceeding to London or Kigali. And some travellers don't like that, for various reasons i don't want to delve into here. And RwandAir must have listened to them and found business sense out of their reasoning. Last week it introduced WB710 & WB711, a non-stop 4-times- a-week flight to London Heathrow airport and back to Kigali.
"The UK is an incredibly important market for RwandAir..." according to Simon Rickman, RwandAir UK country Manager.
Ross Baker, Heathrow airport's Chief Commercial Officer, is quoted as saying " 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"
My British friend and business partner Richard GOLDS calls this a 'game-changer" for British travellers to Rwanda. "Look mate" he says "business follows a road of least resistance".
Let me explain what this new flight scheduling could mean, with a simple conversation I had with him on Saturday 12th November 2022 ( 5 days after the first non-stop flight landed at London Heathrow). We were driving up Nduba hill enjoying the view of Kigali, down below, when this topic came up. Richard had flown into Kigali in the first week of November on a RwandAir flight via Brussels, and was happy to be returning to London in 2 weeks' time on a non-stop flight into Heathrow. It felt to me like in 1950s when one British royal travelled to East Africa as a Princess and returned to London as the Queen( RIP).
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So the ex-British fire serviceman, who has several times confessed to me "I love this country to bits" takes a deep breathe, looks at the spectacular view of Kigali down below and says "this could turn out to be a game-changer in so many ways". But he chose to describe one way.. "UK is sitting on a health time bomb" he begins.
"People in the UK and Europe spend months, pay thousands of pounds, up to £30,000 a week in Health Sanctuaries or dietary holidays, to improve their well-being, detox, cut weight, rejuvenate....they could as well come here and eat fresh vegetables and fruits, walk the hills, for a week and achieve far more than they could ever achieve for months in Health Sanctuaries, at a fraction of the cost" ..."Rwanda is visa-free for UK citizens after all".
So over to you my Brit friends and compatriots, get on WB711, take a break off fish & chips, come munch on fresh veggie and fruits, walk up & down one, two or more of a thousand hills, go back home healthy & rejuvenated. Don't forget the gorillas up in the Volcano mountains!
The writer is Managing Director of MuGOLDS International & ex-Chairman of UK- Rwandan Diaspora Community.
