Gisenyi Airport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public, Civilian | ||||||||||
| Owner | Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority | ||||||||||
| Serves | Gisenyi, Rwanda | ||||||||||
| Location | Gisenyi, Rwanda | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 5,082 ft / 1,549 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 01°40′48″S29°15′30″E / 1.68000°S 29.25833°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  HRYG Location of Gisenyi Airport in Rwanda Placement on map is approximate | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Gisenyi Airport is an airport in Rwanda. It has IATA airport code GYI (not to be confused with North Texas Regional Airport with FAA location identifier GYI).
Gisenyi Airport ( IATA : GYI, ICAO : HRYG), is located in Rwanda's Western Province, in Rubavu District, in the town of Gisenyi, at the International border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This location lies approximately 94 kilometres (58 mi), by air, northwest of Kigali International Airport, currently, the country's largest civilian airport. [1] The geographic coordinates of this airport are:1° 40' 48.00"S, 29° 15' 30.00"E (Latitude:-1.680000; Longitude:29.258334).
Gisenyi Airport is a medium-sized airport that serves the town of Gisenyi and the neighboring city of Goma, across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two neighboring cities are also served by Goma Airport, which is very near the border with Rwanda - similar to Tijuana International Airport and Brown Field Municipal Airport which are separated by the United States - Mexico Border. Gisenyi Airport is one of the eight (8) public civilian airports under the administration of the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority. Gisenyi Airport is situated at an altitude of 5,082 feet (1,549 m) above sea level. [2] The airport has a single asphalt runway that measures 3,330 feet (1,010 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) wide. [3]
RwandAir, the national carrier, operated a three weekly service between Gisenyi Airport and Kigali International Airport. However, as of June 2013 they no longer do so. [4]
The transport system in Rwanda centres primarily around the road network. Paved roads lie between the capital, Kigali, and most other major cities and towns in the country. Rwanda is also linked by road with other countries in the African Great Lakes, via which the majority of the country's imports and exports are made.
Goma is the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with Bukumu Chiefdom to the north, Rwanda to the east and Masisi Territory to the west. The city lies in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active volcano Mount Nyiragongo. With an approximate area of 75.72 km2 (29.24 sq mi), the city has an estimated population of nearly 2 million people according to the 2022 census.
The Rwanda Defence Force is the military of the Republic of Rwanda. The country's armed forces were originally known as the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), but following the Rwandan Civil War of 1990–1994 and the Rwandan genocide of 1994 against the Tutsi, the victorious Rwandan Patriotic Front (Inkotanyi) created a new organization and named it the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). Later, it was renamed to its current name.
Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is the second largest city in Rwanda, located in the Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kigali International Airport, formerly known as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. As of June 2024, there is an ongoing project to build another mega-airport in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, which will be the biggest and the main air gateway for all destinations in the country, in addition to serving as a transit airport for Goma and Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are 4 airlines based at Kigali Airport: RwandAir, the flag carrier airline of Rwanda; Akagera Aviation, a Rwandan heli-company; Tempus Jet, an American airline providing charter flights; and Nexus Aero, a Saudi VIP airline.
Kamembe International Airport,, is an airport in Rwanda. RwandAir operates a Dash 8-Q400 with seven flights per week to and from Kigali International Airport. The airport receives charter flights from Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, though not on a regular schedule. During the Rwandan Civil War, Kamembe airport was suggested as a site for transiting French arms to the interim government after April 1994.
Rubavu District is one of the seven districts (akarere) in Western Province, Rwanda, with a total surface area of 388.4 km2. Its capital is Gisenyi, a large beach resort and border city. The Rubavu Urban area, which includes Gisenyi, Rugerero and other nearby localities, had a 2012 population of 149,209, the second most populous urban area in Rwanda.
Laurent Nkunda is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is the former warlord operating in the province of North-Kivu, and a officer of the Tutsi-dominated government of neighbouring Rwanda. Nkunda, who is himself a Congolese born Tutsi, commanded the former DRC troops of the 81st and 83rd Brigades of the DRC Army. He speaks English, French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Lingala and Kinande. On January 22, 2009, he was put under house arrest in Gisenyi when he was called for a meeting to plan a joint operation between the Congolese and Rwandan militaries.
Société Nationale des Transports Aériens du Rwanda, or Air Rwanda as the airline was commonly known was the national airline of Rwanda, with its base at Kigali International Airport in Kigali. The airline operated for 21 years. In 1996 the airline was rebranded and renamed to Rwanda Air which finally led to the formation of RwandAir in 2002.
RwandAir Limited is the flag carrier airline of Rwanda. It operates domestic and international services to East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from its main base at Kigali International Airport in Kigali.
Ruhengeri Airport is an airport in Ruhengeri, Rwanda.
Butare Airport is an airport in Butare, Rwanda.
Nemba Airport is an airport in Rwanda.
Kericho Airport is an airport in Kenya.
Kisima Airport is an airport in Kenya.
Mandera Airport is an airport in Mandera, Kenya.
Mackinnon Road Airport is an airport in Mackinnon Road, Kenya.
The Rwanda Standard Gauge Railway is a standard gauge railway (SGR) system, under development, linking the country to the neighboring countries of Tanzania and Uganda. It is intended to ease the transfer of goods between the Indian Ocean ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, and the Rwandan capital Kigali. The system is expected to link, in the future, to Rwanda's two other neighbors, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of the East African Railway Master Plan. With no previously existing railway network, Rwanda is developing its railway system from scratch. The project is dependent on the construction of the Tanzanian and Ugandan SGR lines to the Rwandan border, which have not been completed as of October 2023.
On 22 May 2021, Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began erupting. As of 25 May, 32 people died as a result of the eruption and 1,000 homes were destroyed.
Beginning in 2022, tensions heightened between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, marking a significant breakdown in relations between the two countries. Amid this, Rwandan forces have crossed into the DRC multiple times, usually fighting alongside Congolese rebels.