Before you Fly

Travel Documents

Before your trip, please make sure you have a valid Air ticket, Passport, Visa or ID Card.

Air Ticket: Your ticket has important sections that you should know before your trip. We recommend that you check; if the name on the ticket matches with your name on the passport, the date of travel, your destination and departure time. Other important sections to remember especially if you hold an e-ticket is your 5 digit booking reference (i.e. J4KPY) or your etk no. (i.e 4592400016009). These details can be useful in the event of forgetting or loosing your ticket.

Passport: A passport (incl. a visa) or other form of identity-card is always required for travel and you may be asked to prove your identity to airlines, security personnel as well as immigration authorities, at various stages of your journey.

To allow sufficient time to apply for a passport or a visa, we recommend that you check, early enough, which the applicable entry requirements are for your destination. Your travel agent or the consulate/embassy of the country you are traveling to, will be able to provide you with relevant information on any required documents. Ensure that your travel documents are valid and in order and observe that many countries require your passport to be valid at least 3-6 months beyond your intended stay in that country.

It could be wise to take photocopies of your passport, tickets, driving license, credit cards and other travel documents along with you. A copy of, for example, the passport page that contains your photo and your personal details can be useful in the event of your passport getting lost. Keep the copies in a different place from the original documents.

Visa: Many countries require travelers to hold a visa to enter or transit the country. In some cases visas can be obtained upon arrival but in most cases a visa must be obtained prior to the journey. Information on visa requirements can be obtained from your travel agent or from the embassy/consulate of the country to which you intend to travel. Obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the passenger, RwandAir has no legal obligation to inform passengers of any visa requirement in connection with the sale of flight tickets. Please see Useful links for more info about Rwanda Visas.

Vaccinations and Medicines: For some countries it is required or recommended that you have certain vaccinations, and it is worth obtaining these well before your trip. Information about vaccinations can be obtained from our sales offices, Travel Agents, Embassies or health center. Also check before you travel that you have a sufficient quantity of personal medicines.

Travel Insurance: Consider the purchase of travel insurance that covers both yourself and your baggage. If you travel frequently, the purchase of annual insurance is often a good buy. Airlines are not responsible for valuables, fragile items or perishable goods carried in check-in baggage.

What you should and shouldn't Pack.

The items listed below must either be packed in your cargo-hold luggage or left at home. You may not take them into the aircraft cabin.

• Firearms: Any weapon capable of firing a projectile by explosive force, air pressure or gas, including starter pistols and signal flare guns.
• Knives and cutters: including scissors, razor blades, sabres, swords, box cutters and craft knives, hunting knives, souvenir knives; any items used in martial arts; tools.
• Anything that can be used as a bludgeon: cudgels, truncheons, flash lamps (over 30 cm), large sporting equipment such as baseball bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks or the equivalent.
• Substances or objects that can cause injury or incapacity: any equipment that can cause incapacitation, for example through electric shock.
• Other items: such as skates, ice picks, ski poles and walking sticks, knitting needles, fishing gears, handcuffs, toy or replica guns and grenades.
• Any object which may reasonably be believed could be used to imitate a lethal weapon, including any object resembling a bomb or gun or any other dangerous item.

In the main, items on the following list should be left at home and replaced with corresponding ones when you reach your destination. It is forbidden to take onto the plane any bottles or containers marked with a symbol indicating poisonous, corrosive or highly inflammable substances.

1. Liquid, pressurized, inflammable or poisonous gases (e.g. butane cartridges for camping stoves, divers' oxygen or air cylinders, fire extinguishers, acetylene, liquid nitrogen, ammonia, chlorine)
2. Flammable liquids and solids (e.g. paints, turpentine, petroleum, diesel oil, celluloid, phosphorous, calcium carbide, sodium).
3. Explosives, ammunition, fireworks and signal flares.
4. Corrosive substances (e.g. liquid batteries, sulphuric acid, sodium hydroxide, mercury).
5. Oxidizing substances (e.g. bleaches, chemical oxygen generators, ammonium nitrate fertilizers, calcium chlorate).
6. Poisons and infectious substances (e.g. arsenic, nicotine, pesticides, bacteria, viruses).
7. Radioactive material (e.g. radioactive sources used in industry or medicine, cobalt 60, caesium 131).
8. Other dangerous substances (e.g. asbestos, dry ice, powerful magnets, combustion engines, environmental poisons).
9. Requisites used for personal hygiene or health care, such as medicines for your own use or aerosol hair sprays, may either be carried as hand luggage or cargo hold luggage. Up to two litres of these may be carried, but each individual container may not exceed half a litre.

For more information on the transportation of dangerous substances, please don't hesitate to contact us: reservations@rwandair.com