Rwanda's national carrier, RwandAir, has launched direct flights to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv , marking the carrier’s 29th destination.

The inaugural flight departed Kigali late on Monday night and arrived in Tel Aviv early on Tuesday. 

While announcing the scheduled flight, the national airline last month said the flight is expected to connect tourists and business travelers between Tel Aviv and Kigali.

“Adding Tel Aviv to our network is part of our long term plan to link Rwanda to the rest of the world. Tel Aviv is one of the world’s leading tech hubs and we look forward to flying business travelers as well as pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, to and from our network on this new route,” RwandAir’s CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo said.

“It will also be a great opportunity to ease travel and strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries” she said.

The launch of the Kigali-Tel Aviv direct flights come barely a week after RwandAir launched direct Kigali-Guangzhou flights, the carrier’s longest flight.

The launch of the new routes falls in line with RwandAir’s aim to become a regional and continental aviation leader.

The growth of the Airline comes even as other African airlines struggle with operations and experience losses.

The airline now serves East, Central, West and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

RwandAir is also reported to be ready to launch a new direct flight to New York, aiming for a stake in the American aviation market.