Brussels Airlines’ plan to introduce a third flight in and out of Kigali International Airport on Thursdays is complete. Management has fixed December 24 as the inaugural flight for Thursday schedule. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granted Brussels airlines permission to operate a third flight, increasing the airlines’ frequency from 2 to 3 weekly. The airline operates only two flights on Tuesday and Saturday, but it could not meet demand for bookings. Therefore management said they also plan to increase passenger seats by 200 from the current 284 to meet the current demand of air tickets to Asia, America and Europe.The airline has registered a 15 percent increase in books in the recent past. “Our business class is full every week. We need more capacity to satisfy our customers,” Geert Sciot, vice present communication, Brussels Airlines said on Wednesday during the interview. Sciot attributed the increased demand to the confidence investors are gaining in the Rwandan economy and the growing tourism industry. He also said the many international conferences taking place in Rwanda are partly responsible to the growing traffic in and out of Kigali international airport. “The international community now has good perception about Rwanda. That is why there are many international conferences held here every year which directly influences demand for air transport,” he explained. Statistics from Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) indicates that the number of travelers using Kigali International Airport has grown by 14 percent-hitting 146,239 mark on average for the last six years.Ends
