Kigali International Airport

Kigali International airport is also known as the Kanombe International Airport previously known as the Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport is the main airport in Rwanda. Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the eastern part of Africa. It covers an area of about 26,338 square kilometers with a population of approximately 11,262,564 people as of the 74th census that was carried out in the country. The population is majorly comprised of the youth and is rural but developing at a fast rate country.

Rwanda’s capital city is Kigali City and that is where this airport is found. The Rwandan population has one major culture that is the Rwandan culture but is sub-divided into three ethnic groups that is the Hutu people, Tutsi people, and the Twa. The town is majorly dominated by the Hutu and Tutsi whereas the Twa are commonly known as the forest-dwelling pygmies so they occupy the outskirts of the country. The main religion in the country of Rwanda is Christianity though it is a French-speaking country along with their national language the Kinyarwanda. This country is a very organized and peaceful country despite its history of the Rwanda Genocide that brought unrest in the country as a whole in 1994. That insecurity is long over but not forgotten as it is celebrated every year with a full week of mourning. The current reigning president of Rwanda is H.E Paul Kagame since 2000 and has brought this country as far as it is as of today.

Kigali International airport is the major air hub for all the flights in and out of the country. It serves about 9 airlines and big brands that is Brussels Airlines, Coastal Aviation, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Turkish airlines operating international flights to several destinations like Brussels, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Bujumbura, Nairobi, Amsterdam, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, London, Mumbai and several African destinations like Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Brazzaville, Brussels, Bujumbura, Cape town, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Lusaka which is a big coverage so you can’t fail to get a connecting flight into the country when need arises. Some of these airlines operate daily flights to their destinations, for example, KLM has a daily direct flight from Amsterdam to Kigali. This airport also has several cargo flights for those interested in transporting cargo across borders by air. Coastal aviation also operates charter flights to Arusha so you may connect from Kigali to Arusha for a Tanzania safari.

As of 2013, the airport was recorded to have facilitated about 600,000 passengers both international and domestic with an estimate of about 400 weekly flights which later increased in 2016 to 710,000 domestic and international passengers basing on the data from the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority. The airport was built to handle 400,000 passengers per year. This airport has 3 terminals with the main terminal that can accommodate up to 6 mid-sized aircraft. RwandaAir is the country’s carrier and has its head office on the top floor of the airport.

Kigali international airport is strategically situated 2 hours away from the Volcanoes national park which has brought in the biggest number of tourists into the country in search of the mountain gorillas also just 1 and a half hour away from Akagera National park which has also attracted the tourists in search of the wildlife of the country. It is also the major hub for the visitors connecting to the Democratic Republic of Congo for their visit to Virunga or even Kahuzi Biega as it is just 4 hours away. It has also recently become a better option for visitors looking at visiting the Bwindi Impenetrable forest as it is closer than the Entebbe International airport of Uganda which is 8 hours away by road whereas the Kigali airport is approximately 4 hours away.

The Kigali international airport is however not the only airport in the country as there are 4 other airports in the country that is Kamembe airport, Ruhengeri airport, Gisenyi Airport, and Butare Airport and all these are great for visitors who are not interested in moving by road as these are all close to the three national parks of the country that is Akagera National park, Volcanoes National park, and Nyungwe National park. Get in touch with us for the domestic flights from Kigali International Airport to these other airports. The beauty of flying into Rwanda is you can get your visa on arrival if you did not have a chance to apply for it in advance.