At 9.25am on May 18th, it is planned that Uganda Airlines will depart Entebbe International Airport for Gatwick London. At exactly 16:55hrs, the Airbus A330-800 Neo will touch down.
The journey from Entebbe to London that has been hitherto 18 or 18 sometime 22 hours depending on the flight booked, will now be only 9 and a half hours. As a country this is a plus on the scorecard - a dream come true.
In Aug 2019, Uganda Airlines launched its first flight to Nairobi. Before that day, a number of naysayers said that Uganda Airlines project was a hoax. President Yoweri Museveni and a few other leaders nevertheless worked tirelessly to ensure that the airline was revived.
Even after its launch, a number of Ugandans prophesied doom.
Soon after the four CRJ900 planes were deployed to handle regional flights, Covid19 set in and the small birds were grounded in Entebbe for over a year.
Amidst all this, some members of senior management and the board were suspended and later dismissed. This cast a shadow on the future of Uganda Airlines.
Jenifer Bamuturaki was brought in together with Captain Wegoye but the new team faced the baptism of fire from COSASE led by Joel Ssenyonyi that questioned the whole venture.
Five years on, the Crane is still in the sky and crossing continents.
Doubters can now swallow the bitter pill. Despite the challenges within the airline, it's important that we take a record of every achievement and celebrate them. It is those small accomplishments that when compounded, matters most.
Ugandans often amplify any upsets or failure. Good news has limited space both in social, electronic and print media.
News that states that so far, 2,243,014 are the record passengers that passed Entebbe airport in 2024 compared to 1,932,094 passengers in 2023, does not get much space. This is a record set, and a big percentage of these passengers were using Uganda Airlines.
QUOTE | "From the time we announced on the 18th of May to now, we've had over 500 bookings ticketed.
So you'll notice the booking trend - we have bookings as far down as December 2025. We have 2026 bookings for England."
- Jennifer Bamuturaki CEO @UG_Airlines pic.twitter.com/ylHqQwRWUD
-- Uganda Media Centre (@UgandaMediaCent) March 31, 2025
Why celebrate
The new route will ensure continued employment of overr 500 employees - from heads of departments, to pilots, engineers, dispatchers, load controllers etc. T
Every flight destined to Dubai has almost 5 tones of Matooke. This matooke is grown in Bukomasimbi, Kitagata in Isigiro and Bulambuli in Eastern Uganda. A box of matookes of 30kgs that is sold here at sh60,000, is sold for an equivalent of sh160,000 in Dubai.
This business has affected the price of Matooke in Kampala and the biggest beneficiary is the peasant on the country side.
Relatedly, 60% of the suppliers to the airline are Ugandan. Beverages, food, stationery, constructions, transport, fuel for vehicles, and furniture , are all outsourced locally.
Most aviation institutions now also depend on Uganda Airlines for placements of their students as interns. Uganda Airlines always have between 100-200 interns every month. These interns get hands on training in areas like ground operations, cabin crew, dispatch-flight operations and passenger services.
Promoter of tourism
Up to 85% of the foreign passengers that use Uganda Airlines carry tourism visas. Tourism has its associated benefits like forex earning. For the last 12 months dollar and other foreign currencies have been stable. This lead to stabilized ticket fare fees.
It was common for passengers to pay $600 for a 45 minutes flight to Nairobi. This has since become a thing of the past. Uganda airlines for example flies to Nairobi thrice a day. Its possible for a person to work in an office up to 5 pm, dash to the airport, depart at 8:10pm to Nairobi, attend a meeting at 9am, be at airport at 1pm and return to Entebbe at 2pm and pick children from school at 5pm.
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The future of the airline can only be brighter, as Jenifer Bamuturaki Jenny-CEO practices and open-door policy in management of the entity. That ensures she listens to everyone who can get to her.
I was in Asia a few months ago. While there I found out from many associates how they have been able to build their countries.
The majority told me to focus on two things; discipline and love for country.
Dear Ugandans, no one will build our country, It is me and you together that will take on that task. Add a brick to its journey to total growth by promoting it in whatever way you are able to, so that in 30 years from now we shall all celebrate.
Me and my family will always travel with Uganda Airlines. I see that as my humble contribution to its success.
Samson Tinka is a safety and security consultant | Frequent flyer with Uganda Airlines | tindsam@yahoo
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