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Uganda Airlines is gearing up for its inaugural flight to Lagos, Nigeria, starting on October 19^th, 2023. The airline’s CEO, Jenifer Bamuturaki, highlighted the importance of this route in bridging the connectivity gap between East and West Africa.

Uganda Airlines has set its maiden flight to Lagos Nigeria for October 19^th, 2023. 

“The operation to Lagos creates an air bridge to West Africa that breaks a cross-connectivity pattern that impedes swift interconnectivity in East Africa,” said Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Jenifer Bamuturaki on Wednesday 04^th October 2023 2023 

The schedule of the flight will be 3 times a week: Monday, Thursday and Sunday. 

Bamuturaki said Africa is underserved in terms of Air transport at only 22%, and connectivity by air has become more expensive on the continent. 

“Regionally, the connectivity between the West and the East is still minimal; usually, we look as far as the Middle East to connect with West Africa,” said Bamuturaki, adding, “Uganda Airlines is here to answer this call of duty and hereby brings its commitment to the fore to start its service to Lagos, Nigeria.” 

Uganda Airlines has flights to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mogadishu, Bujumbura and Juba.

The national carrier is expected to commence direct flights to India on October 7, 2023. 

Bamuturaki said, “Minus our service, it takes a minimum of 10 hours and 15 minutes to connect from Entebbe to Lagos.”

She said the service, lasting just 4 hours to Lagos, addresses an existing need and will be a catalyst to unlock the immense potential of a market force of over 220m people for collaboration as well as opportunities between the two countries. 

“From oil and gas, agriculture, investments, tourism, textiles and now music, Uganda Airlines offers the air bridge to immense possibilities,” said the Uganda Airlines boss. 

Uganda’s works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala said over 10,000 Nigerian diaspora in Uganda will for the first time be able to visit their loved ones with this direct flight.

He further said the “Nigerian market is also very ripe for our exports, such as manufactured goods, fish, chili, cassava, wheat, fruits and vegetables; our traders should be ready to take on these opportunities.”

Katumba said the airline has plans to expand to another point in Nigeria, Abuja and also Ghana – Accra. 

“My Ministry, under its programme, the Integrated Transport Infrastructure and Services (ITIS), will support its initiatives to expand to more points in West Africa,” said Katumba.

However, said Katumba, full-blown expansion requires that the airline invests in equipment suitable for these routes which he said his ministry was looking into.

“Entebbe Airport is being expanded, and it is now at 70%; we will have a new terminal that will provide a better experience for the passengers transiting through Entebbe,” said Katumba. 

The Airline says it has positioned its state-of-the-art equipment on this route, the A330-800neo, with 258 seats and 36 tons of cargo space. 

“The equipment is tailored to provide a superior and memorable on-board experience. It has also offered competitive fares for its connectivity across Africa,” said Bamuturaki.