Qatar Airways is close to finalizing the purchase of a major stake in RwandAir, perhaps even as soon as next month, according to the central African airline’s chief executive.
For the past five years, Qatar and Rwanda have been working on a deal that would see Qatar Airways take a 49% stake in RwandAir for an undisclosed fee.
RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo told the Financial Times, "It's been going on for a while, we have been discussing it for almost five years. So, now, we're really at the tail-end of it.”
Qatar Airways did not comment.
Africa only accounts for around 2% of global air traffic, according to global airline organization IATA. However, Africa is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, and US plane maker Boeing projects passenger traffic on the continent to more than quadruple in the next 20 years. Boeing projects more than 7% traffic growth a year in Africa through 2042.
The growth is being driven by rising middle class incomes, increasing urbanization and improved connectivity through liberalization of intranational travel regulations.
Qatar Airways already has several investments across Africa and flies to 29 destinations on the continent. In 2019, the Gulf carrier took a 60% stake in a new $1.3 billion international airport being built in Rwanda. Qatar Airways also has codeshare agreements with RwandAir, as well as Air Botswana and South African regional airline Airlink.
The Gulf airline’s CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer said in May that Qatar Airways would soon announce an investment in a Southern African airline as part of its efforts to expand in Africa.
Meer, who took over as CEO last November, has said that Southern Africa represents a gap in his airline’s network and the carrier is keen to fill it.
