Qatar Airways Steps Up Expansion in Africa, Targets Southern Airline Alongside RwandAir Investment

During the Qatar Economic Forum taking place in Doha, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer revealed today that they will proceed with the purchase of 49% of the shares of RwandAir, while also investing in another airline in southern Africa.

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Al Meer explained that they operate a significant network in Africa but must pay special attention to some regions. In North, East, and West Africa, growth is organic, but the only areas lacking coverage on the continent are Central and Southern Africa.

Regarding Central Africa, he pointed out that they could not find «a better partner» than the government of Rwanda through investments in the new Kigali airport (of which it owns 60%) to develop a hub there alongside RwandAir that will mobilize passengers from the region to the capital, and from there to Doha and the rest of the world. The new facilities are expected to open in 2027 and will be able to handle up to 7 million passengers per year. The second phase, planned for 2032, would increase that number to 14 million.

See also: Trip Report: Business Class on RwandAir’s 737 from Kigali to Johannesburg

However, Al Meer went further and announced that to cover southern Africa, «they are in the final stage of a capital investment in an airline» from that region.

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«This airline will complement the operations of Kigali as a hub and the operations of RwandAir as the airline that connects the West, East, and North of Africa,» said Al Meer, without revealing more details about the company, although he joked that there are only a handful of airlines there that might be of interest, so the choice would not be very difficult. In this respect, South African Airways, reborn from the ashes after the pandemic, might sound like the favorite.