Uganda Airlines has revealed that it plans to open a route to London a few years after it first came up with its plans.
The carrier operates the Airbus A330-800 on two routes a week from Entebbe to London Gatwick.
The service will begin on May 18th.
Chief Executive Jennifer Bamturaki detailed the new service at the event on March 20th.
She says that her career, which started business in 2019, originally sought London slots in 2020 before the Covid pandemic destroyed plans.
“This route marks the end of our founding phase and sets us on a course of long-term growth and expansion,” she says.
“It follows meticulous planning, preparation and many set-offs. But in the end we're here.”
Uganda Airlines has two A330-800s. It's a rare small variant of the A330Neo family and four MHIRJ CRJ900s.
The company says it is leasing the Airbus A320 to “mitigate some challenges.”
Opening the route reduces travel time between Entebbe and London from 16 to 9 hours by avoiding the need to fly through other hubs.
Bamuturaki said the A330-800 also supports freight operations, adding that the carrier plans to step up freight operations on freight ships “later this year.”
