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In recent days, passengers travelling with Uganda Airlines between Uganda and destinations such as the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Dubai have experienced serious inconvenience due to the airline’s repeated failure to operate flights according to schedule.
While occasional delays are a common aspect of air travel, the disruptions associated with Uganda Airlines have gone far beyond what passengers reasonably expect. Compounding the problem is the airline’s lack of timely communication and the absence of basic passenger support such as accommodation and meals during prolonged delays, services that are standard practice among most airlines.
As a result, travelers have been left to shoulder additional costs, endure significant loss of time, and miss critical business and personal commitments. Before scrutinising the current issue, it is important to briefly review the history of Uganda Airlines, including its original launch, the factors that led to its collapse, and its relaunch in 2021.
Uganda Airlines was established in 1976 under the government-owned Uganda Development Corporation and began operations in 1977, taking over routes previously operated by East African Airways through the integration of Uganda Aviation Services.
In the late 1970s, Uganda Airlines acquired its first Boeing 707-320C, and new routes to London, Brussels and Rome were established. A second Boeing was purchased in 1981, leading to the launch of new routes to Dubai, Cairo and Cologne, followed by Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro.
However, as Uganda Airlines grew, it encountered serious challenges. Notably, on April 1, 1979, during the Uganda – Tanzania War, a Boeing 707-320C was destroyed by Tanzanian military forces while stationed at Entebbe International Airport.
Furthermore, the company was plagued by financial mismanagement and a culture of impunity. For instance, on February 24, 1986, the general manager, Dr Ben Ochola Latigo, ordered an aircraft to turn back more than 30 minutes after departure simply because he had arrived late at Entebbe Airport while en route from Kampala to Karachi, Pakistan.
On October 17, 1988, Flight 755, an international passenger service from London Gatwick to Rome Fiumicino via Entebbe, crashed during final approach to Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport due to poor visibility.
The Boeing 707- 320C (registration 5X-UBC) struck a building, broke apart, and caught fire, killing 33 of the 52 people on board and leaving many of the survivors seriously injured. By the late 1990s, Uganda Airlines faced severe financial difficulties, leading the government to seek privatization.
With no viable investors and the withdrawal of South African Airways’ bid, all European routes were discounted, and Uganda Airlines was ultimately liquidated in May 2001, ending its first era.
After nearly two decades, Uganda Airlines was reinstated. Its operations have been and continue to be primarily financed by the government of Uganda through equity injections, loans from the Trade and Development Bank, and parliamentary-approved supplementary budgets for aircraft acquisitions.
In August 2019, Uganda Airlines resumed operations, beginning with flights from Entebbe to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and later expanding to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. However, scheduled passenger services were suspended for six months due to Covid-19 travel restrictions but resumed gradually once the restrictions were lifted.
On December 18, 2020, Uganda Airlines began flights to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by routes to Lagos, Nigeria and Mumbai, India. On May 18, 2025, the airline introduced direct passenger and cargo services between Entebbe and London Gatwick, operating four times per week.
While Uganda Airlines has expanded its network of routes, this growth has been accompanied by a noticeable decline in service quality. Passengers from multiple destinations have reported recurring problems, including frequent and unexplained delays and flight cancellations, compounded by poor communication from the airline.
Many travelers feel that ticket prices are disproportionately high, given the level of service, especially considering the operational challenges. There are also allegations that some airline staff have colluded with travel agencies to manipulate fares, leading to significant financial losses amounting to billions of shillings.
It is vital to evaluate Uganda Airlines’ performance beyond the simple metric of route expansion, including a review of the qualifications and experience of its management, as appointments not based on merit risk wasting taxpayer money.
The current situation has provoked deep concern and raised hard, unavoidable questions among many Ugandans. Was Uganda Airlines relaunched to genuinely serve the national interest, or is it a convenient escape route in the event of political instability or insurgency?
Was it revived to facilitate the private transportation of goods for corrupt and self-serving officials, or is it simply another vehicle for the systematic misappropriation of public funds? Those entrusted with authority must act decisively, transparently, and in the best interest of the nation. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.
The writer is a political analyst and a student of LLB Law with Politics, Cardiff University.
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