Photo: AFRAA
RwandAir will play host to the 49th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) scheduled to take place at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda from November 12-14, 2017.
This important annual event which was last held in Victoria Falls– Zimbabwe in November 2016, is expected to attract over 500 high profile delegates from the aviation industry in Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America.
Addressing the media during a press conference held in Kigali as part of an advance visit, AFRAA Secretary General, Dr. Elijah Chingosho said: “The AFRAA AGA is the premier gathering of senior global aviation executives in Africa. Annually, the AGA brings together global aviation leaders and stakeholders to take stock of aviation milestones and plan the future for the development of African aviation.”
The AGA will discuss issues on the development of air transport in Africa in general and development opportunities for African airlines in particular. Air transport in Africa is an economic bridge – linking people, goods and capital to markets and industries and integrating the vast continent.
RwandAir, an IATA member airline renewed its IOSA certification and has been IATA’s Safety Audit of Ground Operations (ISAGO) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified.
The fast growing African airline introduced flights to Abidjan, Libreville and Brazzaville from its new hub in Cotonou and will start operations to Bamako, Conakry and Dakar from the same hub by the beginning of October this year.
Later this year, the airline’s ever growing network is expected to spread to Guangzhou and in 2018, RwandAir plans to enter the American market with flights to New York, in the USA..
Speaking on the summit, President of AFRAA and Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RwandAir, Chance Ndagano thanked AFRAA for the opportunity to host this major aviation event. He stated that hosting the event in Rwanda, presented an excellent opportunity to strengthen aviation in the country and further promotes the tourism sector.
“It is a pleasure and an honor to host the 49th AFRAA Annual General Assembly and Summit in Kigali. RwandAir looks forward to welcoming airline top executives and other aviation stakeholders to Remarkable Rwanda – the land of a thousand hills.” He added.
In addition to the provision of an excellent platform for brand visibility through sponsorship, the General Assembly and Summit of AFRAA will present exhibition opportunities for aviation companies to showcase their services, equipment, components, supplies and IT solutions.
Some of the confirmed sponsors include: Accelya and Mercator, Airbus, Amadeus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority, Nexus, RwandAir and SITA.
The AFRAA AGA will be attended by Chairmen and CEOs from African airlines, International Civil aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Air Transport Association ( IATA), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), civil aviation authorities, airport companies, air navigation services providers as well as aircraft and engine manufacturers, component suppliers, and many other service providers.
Meeting various stakeholders in Rwanda, Dr. Chingosho who looked forward to a successful event in November added, “AFRAA and RwandAir teams are dedicated to ensure that delegates will experience yet another memorable AGA this year.”
