# RwandAir Cargo (IATA WB · ICAO RWD · AWB 459)

> RwandAir Cargo is the freight arm of Rwanda's state airline RwandAir Ltd., with IATA designator WB and AWB prefix 459. This is not a separate cargo company: the air operator certificate and the air waybill sit with the passenger airline. On offer are belly capacity from the passenger network and one Boeing 737-800SF freighter based in Kigali. For forwarders, RwandAir Cargo is an access point to landlocked Rwanda and to destinations in Central and East Africa, with links to Brussels, London, Paris, Dubai and Doha. Air waybills start with 459-, and booking closes 96 hours before direct flights and 72 hours before transit flights.

## Quick facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal | RwandAir Ltd. |
| IATA | `WB` |
| ICAO | `RWD` |
| AWB prefix | `459` |
| Country | RW |
| Tracking | https://www.rwandair.com/cargotracking/cargo.php |

## Overview

RwandAir Cargo is the freight arm of RwandAir Ltd., the state-owned national airline of Rwanda, based at Kigali International Airport (KGL). There is no separate cargo carrier: the air operator certificate and the air waybill sit with the passenger airline. The company began operations on 1 December 2002 as Rwandair Express and has traded under the RwandAir brand since March 2009.

The operating model has two parts. The larger share of capacity is belly cargo on the passenger fleet, which serves some twenty destinations in West, Central, East and Southern Africa plus Brussels, London, Paris, Dubai and Doha from Kigali (carrier route list, retrieved 17 September 2026). On top of that comes a dedicated freighter, in service since 24 November 2022: a converted Boeing 737-800SF in the carrier's own cargo livery, based in Kigali. On 10 June 2024 RwandAir Cargo added Dubai Al Maktoum (DWC) and Djibouti (JIB) to the freighter network with this aircraft, Djibouti from 17 June 2024 twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays; Sharjah (SHJ) had previously been the first freighter destination in the United Arab Emirates. The freighter network thus covered seven destinations in Africa and the Middle East. No more recent confirmation of the network's extent is available from primary sources.

For forwarders the identifiers are IATA WB, ICAO RWD and AWB prefix 459; air waybills start with 459-. Booking cut-off is 96 hours before departure on direct flights and 72 hours on transit flights. Products cover general cargo, perishables, pharmaceuticals with four temperature ranges (COL +2 to +8 degrees, CRT +15 to +25 degrees, ERT +2 to +25 degrees, FRO frozen), courier, mail under UPU standards, dangerous goods, live animals, valuables and repatriation of human remains. Shipment tracking runs through the carrier's own tracking page.

## Hubs

- KGL

## Fleet

- Boeing 737-800SF × 1

- Airbus A330-200 × 0

- Airbus A330-300 × 0

- Boeing 737-800 × 0

- De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 × 0

## Sources

- [RwandAir Cargo Services (offizielle Frachtseite)](https://www.rwandair.com/business-solutions/cargo/)

- [IATA Current Airline Members - RwandAir](https://www.iata.org/en/about/members/airline-list/rwandair/458/)

- [RwandAir - Mitteilung vom 10.06.2024 zum Frachternetz Dubai und Dschibuti](https://www.rwandair.com/media-center/newsroom/rwandair-cargo-expands-its-network-to-dubai-and-djibouti/)

- [RwandAir - Mitteilung vom 24.11.2022 zur ersten Frachtmaschine](https://www.rwandair.com/media-center/newsroom/rwandair-expands-its-fleet-with-a-dedicated-freighter/)

- [SKYbrary (EUROCONTROL) - Operator RwandAir](https://skybrary.aero/operator/rwandair)

- [RwandAir - Who we are](https://www.rwandair.com/about-us/who-we-are-n/)

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*Freight Academy — Airline Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airlines/rwandair-cargo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airlines/rwandair-cargo)*

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