{"id":55484,"date":"2025-09-04T09:29:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T09:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/passenger-drones-unveiled-in-rwanda-photos\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T11:57:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T11:57:03","slug":"passenger-drones-unveiled-in-rwanda-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/passenger-drones-unveiled-in-rwanda-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s first self-flying air taxis unveiled in Rwanda (Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The launch took place on September 3, 2025, just hours before the ninth edition of the Aviation Africa summit, a two-day conference bringing together over 80 aviation companies from across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>The drones, known as eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles), are manufactured by Chinese company EHang and run entirely on electricity. <\/p>\n<p>Each drone costs approximately $400,000 (approximately Frw 579 million), can carry two passengers, transport over 620 kilograms of cargo, cover 30 kilometres, and fly for up to 25 minutes on a full charge. They operate at an altitude of 100 metres, feature 12 rotors mounted on four arms, and are equipped with technology to detect obstacles mid-air.<\/p>\n<p>Melissa Rusanganwa, International Affairs Manager at the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA), was the first to experience the aircraft in flight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt safe throughout the flight,\u201d she said. \u201cThe crew conducted thorough checks and gave us instructions to follow. This technology will connect people across different regions and support tourism while being environmentally friendly, as the drones are fully electric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda has previously used drones mainly for medical deliveries. Zipline Rwanda, operational since October 2016, has delivered blood, vaccines, and medical supplies to over 650 health facilities, including more than 100 small clinics. Their drones carry 2\u20133 kilograms, travel up to 160 kilometres at speeds of 130 km\/h, and complete long-distance trips in under 40 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The country is also developing a state-of-the-art Drone Operation Centre in Huye District, Southern Province, on the site of a former airfield. The 13.4 billion Rwandan franc facility will accommodate drones of all sizes, including large models comparable to helicopters with wingspans of 18\u201320 metres. It will host up to 3,000 drones at once and include areas for assembly and testing of new drones.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93807 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/20-ec1a6287-1e9d3.jpg\" alt=\"Each drone can carry two passengers and transport over 620 kilograms of cargo.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93801 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/12-ec1a6195-8338a.jpg\" alt=\"Each drone costs approximately $400,000 (approximately Frw 579 million).\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93800 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/13-ec1a6225-c0410.jpg\" alt=\"Melissa Rusanganwa, International Affairs Manager at the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA), was the first to experience the aircraft in flight.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93806 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/19-ec1a6274-daf03.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93805 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/15-ec1a6261-fcf63.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93804 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/17-ec1a6269-79c13.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93803 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/16-ec1a6264-308cc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93802 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/14-ec1a6244_1-3b282.jpg\" alt=\"Rwanda has previously used drones mainly for medical deliveries. \" \/><\/figure>\n<p>><\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93799 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/11-ec1a6181-9f54d.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93798 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/09-ec1a6170-763ec.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93797 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/07-ec1a6152-5f236.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93796 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/08-ec1a6161-052b6.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93795 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/06-ec1a6147-7c2e2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93794 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/05-ec1a6144-28593.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93793 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/04-ec1a6141-a534d.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93792 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/03-ec1a6134-87c6c.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93791 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/01-ec1a6123-3f1e5.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-93790 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/02-ec1a6129-5ae5c.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Self-flying air taxis have been introduced in Rwanda for the first time in Africa, marking a step forward in advancing air transport and boosting tourism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000093810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000093810,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-3-9dffc.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000093810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55484"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55484"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}