Qatar Airways and Rwanda’s flag-carrier RwandAir have deepened their existing partnership by signing an interline agreement that will allow passengers to connect through their respective hubs in Doha (DOH) and Kigali (KGL).

The two airlines last month announced a deal for frequent-flyer program reciprocity, through which members of Qatar Airways Privilege Club and RwandAir Dream Miles can both earn and use points on each other’s networks.

The latest agreement opens up a combined 160 destinations across the networks of both carriers, according to the airlines.

“Africa is a hugely important market for us and this latest partnership will help support the recovery of international air travel and offer unrivalled connectivity to and from a number of new African destinations,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said.

Qatar Airways serves Kigali from Doha five times per week via Entebbe (EBB) in Uganda using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline’s customers can transit via KGL to a range of African destinations served by RwandAir, including Bujumbura, Brazzaville and Libreville.

Similarly, RwandAir passengers will be able to connect to Qatar Airways’ global network from Doha. RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo said: “We’re really excited to be opening up more of the world to our customers through the new interline agreement with Qatar Airways.”

In February 2020, it emerged that Qatar Airways was in talks to buy a 49% stake in RwandAir alongside a 60% stake in Rwanda’s Bugesera International Airport, which is under construction. However, it is understood that the deals are yet to complete.

Photo credit: Qatar Airways