Uganda’s national carrier, Uganda Airlines, has announced the launch of new services to three African destinations. The airline will launch scheduled services to Abuja, Nigeria, Harare, Zimbabwe, and Lusaka, Zambia.
According to AeroTime, services between Entebbe International Airport and Abuja will commence on Sept. 12, 2024. The service will operate on Sundays and Thursdays and will be operated with an Airbus A330-800neo aircraft. This route will operate as a tag on flights to the airline’s existing Lagos service.
Toward the end of September, Uganda Airlines will launch services to two more destinations in the southern part of the continent. Services to Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and Harare’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport will begin on September 25. Both of these routes will be operated with Canadair CRJ-900 regional jets.
Building Up its Flight Schedule
In addition, Uganda Airlines has increased frequencies to both Nairobi, Kenya and Juba, South Sudan. The latest network expansion enables Ugandan to build up its presence on the African continent while also repositioning itself as a regional carrier.
The addition of these new routes comes ahead of the anticipated launch of Uganda Airlines’ services to London Gatwick Airport later this year. This expansion is a vital step in providing a feeder network for the carrier’s long-haul services to its European and Asian destinations. Uganda Airlines aims to launch services to destinations in China and the United States when it has additional aircraft.
Sustainability of New Routes
The airline projects breaking even on the three new routes within 18 months. The profitability of these services does not depend solely on passenger traffic. It will also come from revenue generated by carrying cargo. Flights between Uganda and Nigeria are particularly important for the carriage of cargo.
