Rwanda has signed milestone agreements on civil aviation with the Union of West and Central African Airport Managers (UGAACO) an official source confirmed to APA in Kigali on Tuesday.
The UGAACO brings together 17 airports in 16 countries in Central and West Africa.
During a UGAACO executive workshop which is taking place in Kigali, the management of Rwanda’s state carrier RwandAir is looking to take advantage of the new membership to focus on regional to optimize its operational cost and boost its financial performance.
Official estimates show that RwandAir’s financial performance was promising prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which adversely affected the global airline industry.
According to Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the Chief Executive of RwandAir, it is critical for the airline to focus on regional hauls, taking into consideration the cost of operation.
Most of Rwandair’s destinations are African cities.
Launched 14 years ago and based in Dakar, Senegal, the UGAACO gathers 17 airports in 16 countries in Central and West Africa.
UGAACO member airports include Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Bamako-Senou (Mali), Bangui-M’Poko (Central African Republic), Conakry Gbessia (Guinea), Cotonou (Benin), Blaise Diagne (Senegal), Libreville (Gabon) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
Its other member airports are Yaounde-Nsimalen (Cameroon), Maya Maya Brazzaville (Congo), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Ndjamena (Chad), Niamey (Niger) Nouakchott Oumtounsy (Mauritania), Osvaldo Vierra of Bissau (Guinea Bissau) and Lome-Tokoin and Niamtougou (Togo).
CU/as/APA