Journalists on a guided tour of the Kigali International Airport on Friday swarm around a temperature-taking robot, ‘Urumuri’, which has been deployed at the airport ahead of resumption of passenger flights on August 1. Officials at the national carrier, RwandAir, say they are confident demand for air travel will gradually pick up as more and more countries lift travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. / Photo: Sam Ngendahimana A temperature-screening robot, dubbed ‘Urumuri’, has been deployed to Kigali International Airport ahead of resumption of passenger flights on August 1. Officials at the national carrier, RwandAir, say they are confident demand for air travel will gradually pick up as more and more countries lift travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. / Photo: Sam Ngendahimana. A screen on which passangers can easily find themselves their temperature after being screened by cameras Inside the airport compounds this message that asks passangers to be safe is in all corners of the airport Self-check in kiosks that allows passengers to check-in themselves without physically meeting ticketing agents. RwandAir officials say they are confident demand for air travel will gradually pick up as countries prepare to open up borders and airlines finally resume operations after months of suspension.
The national flag carrier will resume operations on August 1, after nearly five months since the airline suspended operations due to Covid-19 global epidemic.
Rwandair CEO Yvonne Makolo said bookings are already coming in.
“We are seeing, in terms of our forward bookings, demand on different routes,” she told members of different media organizations during a tour of the Kigali International Airport on Friday.
“The demand will grow gradually as passengers become more comfortable traveling during this pandemic,” she added.
Makolo admitted that there is a lot of anxiety among passengers during this time, but the airline is putting in place different measures to ensure that it is safe for passengers to travel. An arrivals terminal at Kigali International Airport. Aviation authorities have stepped up efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus once passenger flights return to the skies. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana
“We have put all measures in place as directed by ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] and WHO [World Health Organisation] to make sure that our passengers and staff are safe when we resume operations,” she noted.
RwandAir will resume flights, starting with Africa destinations and Dubai in the Middle East, before increasing frequencies to other destinations as demand for […]
