Entebbe, Uganda – The national carrier -Uganda Airlines now on a steady path to open up the minerals rich African continent has recorded another major milestone by launching direct flights to the commercial hub of West Africa – Abuja Nigeria.
Later this month the airline ,hardly five years in operation will spread its wings to Lusaka Zambia and Harare Zimbabwe. Executives at the airline, led by CEO Jennifer Bamuturaki, say the latest routes-opening is part of a broader strategy to expand its services across the vast African continent to boost trade and enhance regional connectivity- a corner stone of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA,) development agenda.
Fred K. Bamwesigye, the Director General of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), the national air travel regulator was elated by Uganda Airlines latest achievement in a short period of time -noting marked growth of Uganda’s aviation system and its potential to foster deeper ties between Uganda and West Africa.
Bamwesigye highlighted the instrumental role played by the UCAA in facilitating Uganda Airlines’ growth and expansion. The authority has been a strong partner in ensuring that Uganda Airlines adheres to the highest standards of safety, security, and service throughout its operations.
“We are committed to supporting Uganda Airlines through this process and in its future expansion plans,” Bamwesigye stated while explaining that the UCAA’s role goes beyond regulatory oversight, offering strategic guidance and infrastructure development to accommodate the airline’s growing needs.
This has been particularly crucial in securing the success of the Abuja route, as well as Uganda Airlines’ planned expansion to other African and international destinations.
The launch of the Entebbe-Abuja route comes a year after Uganda Airlines introduced flights to Lagos, Nigeria making it the 14th destination on a growing list of its network. This new connection is expected to enhance trade between the two nations, enabling faster and more efficient movement of goods and people.
The inaugural UR 900 service to Abuja departed Entebbe at 16:00 hours on September 12, with a same-day arrival at Abuja Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 18:15.
“We are proud to be living up to our promise to take Nigeria to Uganda and bring Uganda to Nigeria, Abuja is now our 14th point as we embark on our expansion plan,” a jovial , Jenifer Bamuturaki, stated.
“Abuja is our second destination in Nigeria and the fourteenth overall in our network. Its launch underscores our continuing commitment to ease travel across Africa by providing efficient and affordable air services to facilitate business, tourism, and leisure travel,” Bamuturaki added.
The new route to Abuja will feed into the Lagos service reducing the travel lead times further, and- available on Thursday and Sunday –while flying national carrier’s flagship Airbus A330-800neo aircraft.
Fred Byamukama, the Minister of State for Works, said this development and others that will follow validate the government’s foresight and strategic vision in its decision to restart the national carrier five years ago.
“Africa is severely disconnected, which makes cooperation and commerce very difficult and expensive. In the absence of efficient and functional road, rail and waterways, air transport is the low-hanging fruit as member states move to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA,)” Byamukama stated.
“Abuja is a major economic and political centre in Nigeria that plays a crucial role in bilateral cooperation between Uganda and Nigeria. By establishing a route there, Uganda Airlines is enhancing connectivity between the two countries,” he said, adding that increasing air connectivity within Africa will help reduce travel times, lower costs, and improve accessibility across the continent.
He said this will facilitate trade, investment, and economic cooperation, benefiting businesses and the overall economy in both Uganda and Nigeria.
“Direct flights to Abuja will increase Uganda Airlines’ catchment area in the country and make it easier for tourists from Nigeria to visit Uganda and vice versa.
This will boost Uganda’s tourism sector by increasing the flow of Nigerian visitors. Although Nigerian movies have already introduced Ugandans to Nigerian culture, the availability of flights will take cultural interaction between Ugandans and Nigerians to the next level,” he added.
He added that this new flight shows Uganda’s commitment to delivering Africa’s continental integration agenda through enhanced mutual accessibility.
Abuja launch will be followed by Lusaka and Harare starting September 25. Officials said the new services will support revenue growth, improve fleet utilization and primes the carrier for planned expansion into Europe and Asia.
“The entry into these markets is meant to build an efficient-optimised regional market which will feed and finance a more profitable long-haul market; grow the aircraft fleet utilisation, create a robust regional network that will serve as a feeder for the Uganda Airlines’ long-haul market, especially London, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Dubai and most importantly support Uganda Airline’s Africa network connectivity,” chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki told media earlier in Kampala.
The new routes expand the network to 16 destinations, 14 of them in Africa, one in the Middle East and another to Mumbai, India.
“Launching these routes marks the successful conclusion of our 3-year strategic plan, paving the way for the next phase of our 10-year rolling plan. This strategic approach ensures that our expansion is not just a leap of faith but a well-thought-out progression,” said chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki.
Lusaka and Harare will be served four times a week in a carefully mapped route operation that will see flights alternate between Entebbe-Lusaka-Harare-Entebbe on two days.
Uganda Airlines Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said Abuja’s central location in Nigeria, will make the service attractive to travellers from the country’s northern states, who will now have shorter flights out of Nigeria. Three quarters of international airlines flying to Nigeria prefer to land in the commercial capital, Lagos, leaving a huge connectivity gap in Abuja.
Adedayo added that the new services will improve aircraft utilisation, taking average daily flying time of the CRJ fleet to 9.6 hours and the Airbus A330-800s to 8 hours.
What it means for the traveler
These carefully mapped out routes are a game changer for air travel in Africa. Uganda Airlines’ new service for instance will instantly eliminate the hirtherto connectivity nightmare that travelers in Africa faced by flying to Europe before connecting to their preferred destinations within Africa .
Now, travelers from Nigeria’s central, northern, and northeastern regions can have direct flights offered by Uganda Airlines to destinations such as Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Mogadishu, Mumbai, and Dubai . Uganda Airlines flights come at a fair price and with significantly reduced travel lead time.
