RwandAir Online Check-in and Boarding Pass

Self check-in becomes available 24 hours before departure on the airline's website. It closes 1 hour before departure on both international and domestic flights, except when departing from Dubai and Lagos, where the counter closes one hour and thirty minutes before departure.

The airline recommends arriving at the airport three hours before the scheduled departure for an international flight, and two hours for a domestic flight. These closing times are minimums, and boarding wraps up before takeoff. Double check the exact time shown on your booking, since some airports apply stricter local rules.

Online check-in runs through the Check-in section of the airline's website, using the booking reference or e-ticket number together with the surname. RwandAir asks travellers to have their documents ready beforehand: the booking reference or e-ticket number, and the passport.

RwandAir also offers a mobile app, listed on its website. It isn't required: the website lets you check in, and the airport counter stays open for passengers who haven't checked in ahead of time.

If online check-in doesn't go through for your booking, head to the check-in desk at the airport within the times listed above.

Once check-in is confirmed, the boarding pass can be printed. Passengers who check in at the counter receive a paper boarding pass.

Depending on the departure airport, staff may ask for a printed boarding pass or a reprint at the counter. If you're not sure about local practice, plan on having a paper copy.

On a connecting itinerary, check that you hold a boarding pass for each segment. If only one leg shows up, the second is usually issued at the departure counter or during transit.

RwandAir states that passport and visa checks are carried out at check-in and during boarding; for domestic flights, passengers must have their identity card, driving licence or passport with them. The purpose is to prevent a passenger from travelling with an invalid visa or passport, along with the denied boarding and fines that can follow.

Checking in online doesn't remove this requirement: the passport, visa or destination country's travel authorisation will be examined before boarding. Under the aviation rules the airline points to, it's up to the passenger to find out which documents the destination country requires. Passport data (Advance Passenger Information, APIS) can be entered ahead of time in the Manage My Booking section.

In the cabin, each passenger may bring one bag measuring 55 x 38 x 20 cm cm weighing no more than 10 kg, except in Johannesburg where local authorities cap this weight at 7 kg. Sizer frames placed in the check-in areas are used to check size and weight, and any bag exceeding these limits must travel in the hold.

The checked baggage allowance follows standard check-in: 23 kg. Excess baggage is charged according to destination, region and aircraft type, with the airline's fee scale varying from one route to another.

Added free of charge, for all passengers except infants, are a coat, a wrap or a blanket, along with an umbrella or a cane. Even when checked in online, a traveller with hold baggage must go through the bag drop counter before check-in closes.

Other airlines in the region set their own schedules and allowances: see for example Air Austral online check-in, Air Mauritius check-in rules, the Air Seychelles procedure or the Air Côte d'Ivoire boarding pass.

Several situations can cause a rejection when confirming: check-in not yet open, booking reference entered with a mix-up between the digit 0 and the letter O, name spelled differently than on the passport, ticket not yet issued, or a flight operated by a codeshare partner (a flight for which RwandAir sells seats under the WB code, but which is actually operated by another airline). A schedule change not yet accepted in Manage My Booking can also block the process.

If check-in has already closed, contact the airline through its call centre (+250 788 177 000 for international calls, 3030 for local calls) or a sales office to look into a rebooking. It's worth building in extra time when planning your arrival at the airport.

For a specific seat, the request can be made at booking, online, through the call centre, or with staff at check-in; in this last case, it depends on how many seats remain on the aircraft, which explains why families sometimes end up split on full flights. Travellers who would rather not handle this themselves can hand their RwandAir check-in over to iBoardingPass, which carries it out as soon as check-in opens and sends the boarding pass by email.