{"id":56451,"date":"2025-12-03T10:33:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/africa-s-passenger-air-traffic-set-to-grow-6-annually-rwanda-poised-to\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T14:50:30","slug":"africa-s-passenger-air-traffic-set-to-grow-6-annually-rwanda-poised-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/africa-s-passenger-air-traffic-set-to-grow-6-annually-rwanda-poised-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s passenger air traffic set to grow 6% annually, Rwanda poised to capitalise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Boeing\u2019s 2025 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) for Africa projects that the continent\u2019s commercial aeroplane fleet will more than double to 1,680 aircraft over the next 20 years to meet rising travel demand. Single-aisle aircraft are expected to make up about 70 percent of the more than 1,200 new airplanes slated for delivery, supporting the growth of domestic and short-haul international routes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAviation is a catalyst for Africa\u2019s economic expansion and intra-continental connectivity, building on industry growth we\u2019ve seen across the region over the last 20 years,\u201d said Shahab Matin, Boeing managing director of Commercial Marketing for the Middle East and Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda is positioning itself to benefit directly from this growth. The development of the new Bugesera International Airport, in partnership with Qatar Airways, is central to the country\u2019s strategy to become a regional aviation hub. <\/p>\n<p>The new airport is designed to far exceed the capacity of Kigali International Airport, which was originally built for 400,000 passengers annually but was handling over 1 million passengers before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Phase I of Bugesera International Airport is expected to handle 7 to 8.2 million passengers annually when it opens by 2028, while Phase II, targeted for completion around 2032, could expand capacity to 14 million passengers annually.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda\u2019s national carrier, RwandAir, is aligning with this expansion, aiming to more than double its annual passenger numbers from just over 1 million in 2023\/2024 to 2.1 million by 2028\/2029. This growth will be supported by expanding its fleet from 15 to at least 21 aircraft and increasing its network from 23 to 29 destinations.<\/p>\n<p>In August this year, the airline strengthened its operational capacity with the addition of two modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft. In addition to the two aircraft, the airline operates a fleet of 13 other planes, including two A330-200s, one A330-300, six Boeing 737 Next Generation jets, two Bombardier CRJ900s, and two De Havilland Dash 8-400s. Plans are also underway to add a fourth Airbus to the fleet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith sustained investment, an expanding network, and an empowered workforce, we\u2019re building an airline that connects Rwanda to the world, and the world to Rwanda,&#8221; Rwandair Chief Commercial Officer Fouad Caunhye told IGIHE in July.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-98564 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/20250827_184501-1920x1281.jpg\" alt=\" In August this year, Rwandair strengthened its operational capacity with the addition of two modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft.\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>As African carriers, including RwandAir, expand their fleets and route networks, Boeing forecasts a need for 74,000 new pilots, technicians, and cabin crew across the continent over the next 20 years. The Africa CMO also projects aviation services demand valued at $130 billion to support fleet growth and operational resilience through 2044.<\/p>\n<p>With strategic investments like Bugesera International Airport and a growing national airline, Rwanda is set to play a prominent role in the continent\u2019s expanding aviation sector.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-98568 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/bugesera-international-airport_1_.jpg\" alt=\"The total estimated cost for the full development of the Bugesera International Airport project is approximately $2 billion. \" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa\u2019s passenger air traffic is expected to grow an average of 6 percent annually through 2044, fueled by a young population, an expanding middle class, rapid urbanisation, and continued investment in airports and connectivity, according to U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000098569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[75],"byline":[174],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-56451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-62","tag-homenews","byline-philbert-girinema"],"bylines":[{"id":174,"name":"Philbert Girinema","slug":"philbert-girinema","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":6}],"contributors":[{"id":174,"name":"Philbert Girinema","slug":"philbert-girinema","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":6}],"featured_image":{"id":2000098569,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/bugesera-international-airport_logo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56451","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=56451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000098569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56451"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=56451"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=56451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}