Barely two weeks after two Bombadiers acquired by Uganda Airlines touched down at Entebbe, Uganda airlines is ready to take to the skies.
The airline announced that it has seven planned regional routes which are Nairobi, Bujumbura, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Khartoum, Mogadishu and Juba. Others like Johannesburg will start at a later time. Business is expected to kick off by at least July.
Cornwall Muleya the technical adviser, Uganda airlines is confident that it will be profitable as a result of the market, with estimates placing it at 1,600,000 to two million passengers a year.
More planes are expected in the country by 2021 and the carrier is currently having its air operating license processed as well as undergoing through a 3-month safety and security test by the aviation authorities of where they are supposed to land.
As such, the aircraft have been flying to destinations including Kinshasa, Mombasa, Johannesburg and other airports in East, Central and Southern Africa. Jennifer Bamuturaki, the commercial director of Uganda National Airlines, says they are still awaiting clearance and operating certificate from Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
She says the airline is the process of setting up a booking office and setting the fares to various destinations before they receive an air operating certificate.
The parliamentary committee on Planning and Physical Infrastructure in its report, requested that the airline sets up a board of directors of the Uganda National Airline Company by April 30. The committee also asked that parliament denies the airline funds until a committee is set up.
Currently, the airline according the Bamuturaki, is struggling with limited funds to run its operations. The airline is also expected to manage its ground handling services.
The airlines according to Bamuturaki submitted a budget of up to Shs 259 billion for the capitalization of the airline for the next five years.
