Rwanda — Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority

The clocks it starts

• Two years for a Montreal Convention claim (Art. 35)This is the limitation period for the Convention claim for proven delay damages on international carriage, not for any national compensation scheme, which may have its own. It is fatal to the Convention claim specifically, and correspondence does not suspend it.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35(1) — Art. 35(1)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• Ask whether the African Union consumer regulation has been domesticatedThe Yamoussoukro Decision is implemented through a set of regulations that includes one on the protection of consumers of air transport services, administered through the African Civil Aviation Commission. Whether it gives you an enforceable right depends on whether your state has brought it into domestic law, which varies across the continent and which we have not verified state by state. It is worth one line in your complaint to the national authority: ask whether the African Union consumer protection regulation applies to your flight and, if so, what it provides. The answer is either a right you did not know you had or a clear statement that the national regulation is the only one in play.
• Montreal Convention damages for delay (international carriage)On international carriage between States Parties, Art. 19 of the Montreal Convention makes the carrier liable for the damage the delay actually caused you — the unused hotel night, the missed onward booking, the extra meals and transport — unless it proves it took all measures that could reasonably be required. It is capped at 6,303 SDR per passenger (the figure ICAO set with effect from 28 December 2024) and it requires receipts, not a formula. This claim exists independently of any national scheme, and airlines never mention it. The right is extinguished two years after arrival under Art. 35.Art. 19, Art. 22(1)

Where to take it next

1. 01Written claim to the airlineComplain to the carrier in writing first, naming the flight, the disruption and the loss it caused, and asking which provision of the national civil aviation regulations it says applies. The regulator will ask whether you did this and the carrier's written answer is your evidence.Claim direct·typically 30 days
2. 02Rwanda Civil Aviation AuthorityThe RCAA regulates carriers operating to, from and within Rwanda and receives passenger complaints.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
3. 03Civil or small claims courtBinding on themAvailable where the carrier refuses. Proportionate where several passengers on the same booking claim together, or where the disruption caused substantial out-of-pocket loss you can document.Small claims·typically 180 days