Malawi-based tourism, aviation and hospitality company, Rayoni Holdings Limited, has announced that it has received an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the country’s Malawian Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA) and will commence tourism-focused commercial flights under the brand Rayoni Tourism Airlines in the coming months.
“We are currently finalising procedures for the launch of our first flight, which is expected to commence in the coming months,” the company said in a statement. The company said the AOC gives Rayoni Tourist Airlines the right to operate scheduled, non-scheduled and charter flights within Malawi and overseas. It said the company is committed to promoting tourism in Malawi, particularly in the northern region. Rayoni Holdings is an investment company wholly owned by Mugona Trust, a family trust company.
Based in Mzuzu, the gateway to Lake Malawi, the start-up plans to operate direct flights to the capital Lilongwe International Airport and Nyika National Park in northern Malawi. The Lilongwe-Nyika route will include Likoma Island on Lake Malawi. Through a commercial partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, the Malawian airline will operate international landings and landings in Lilongwe, Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. The airline will use one Cessna 208 Caravan turboprop aircraft, according to its advertising.
Rayoni Tourist Airlines will offer all-inclusive tour packages to Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. “By partnering with Ethiopian Airlines Group, we will sell tour packages globally and also provide transportation services to Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro,” the company explained. The four tours departing from Mzuzu include Vwaza and Nyika, Karonga and Chitipa on the Zambian border, Nkata Bay on the western shore of Lake Malawi and Likoma.
Further details about Rayoni Holdings were not immediately available.
In a separate statement, Malawi’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works confirmed the June 2024 certification for Rayoni Holdings Limited and Flytech Group (registered in Malawi’s Companies Registry as Flytech Aviation Group) to be authorised to offer charter and scheduled flights.
It was also confirmed that MCAA has renewed the AOC for Malawi Airlines (3W, Lilongwe International Airport), a joint venture with Ethiopian Airlines. MCAA has also signed bilateral air services agreements with Mozambique (November 2023) and Saudi Arabia (May 2024), established a cooperation framework on air traffic and search and rescue services with Zambia, and granted licenses for Majete, Liwonde and Tongole airfields. MCAA, which was established in October 2023, took over the regulatory functions previously administered by the Department of Civil Aviation under the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
