Opinion: The Beauty Of Revitalization of Uganda Airline

By Dickson Namisi

In this modern era, our nation stands within its well renowned identity on planet earth “The Pearl of Africa,” where we can now Re-fly the Crane across the globe.

Uganda Airline was first founded in May 1976 as subsidiary of the government owned Uganda Development Corporation.

The first national Airline was formed with fleet of 15 aircraft linking the country not only to the rest of Africa but also the world at large.

In the late 1990s, the Airline was in a delicate cash position owing to mismanagement when the Government of Uganda planned to privatize it.

And in May 2001, Uganda Airlines was liquidated because of making losses and during the moment of its closure, the national airline had encountered series of challenges which included constant aircraft breakdowns and high maintenance costs.

Over the years, lots of negative tantrums have been directed to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government as to why the airline was dissolved with little or no explanations to Ugandans.

Several factors that National Resistance Movement inherited from the past governments like Uganda’s aviation history that spans from 1943 with the formation of the East African Airways from the former Wilson Airways that collapsed with the East African Community and the imposition of the economic embargo in 1975 that resulted from the miserable political environment in Uganda by then.

However, in a bid to compete with regional carriers like Kenya Airways and Rwanda Air, Uganda has acquired four 74-seater Bombardier aircraft with the intention of reviving the national Airline.

As sociologists, we believe there is no doctrine more exciting to Ugandans today like conveying an impression that the revival of Uganda Airline is something peculiar.

Theodore Roosevelt once stated that “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Therefore, the decision to revive Uganda Airline was based on Uganda’s past aviation experience as well as lessons from the successes and failures of airlines across the globe.

The President of The Republic of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni conceptualized the idea and later embraced and adopted it in the National Vision 2040 which highlights long-term intentions of transforming Uganda from predominantly peasant to a modern and prosperous country within a period of 30 years. Among the components planed for, was the revival of Uganda Airlines which is being done.

Putting in consideration the traffic statistics for 2016 from Sabre, data shows that passengers were 1,572,115, all of which were carried by airlines from outside Uganda and according to the National Airlines Business and Implementation Plan, passenger growth rates have largely been below historical levels since the closure of Air Uganda in 2014.

Therefore, our analysis of Uganda air travel market shows that the largest demand for air travel is within African that is based on the National Airlines Business and Implementation Plan, which accounted for more than 60% of the total traffic in 2016.

Statistically, Ugandans spend over $400 million (€356 million) on flights every year, but the government now has to convince frequent flyers to book their tickets with the newly resurrected Airline. President Yoweri Museveni has already said all government officials will be required to fly with Ugandan Airlines.

As such, the initial fleet of the four CRJ900 aircraft was selected to address this need and to enhance the operation of adequate frequencies to these regional markets in order to provide connectivity, stimulate traffic growth, and develop the interconnecting hub at Entebbe International Airport.

The main regional destinations for traffic are Nairobi followed by Kilimanjaro, Kigali, Mogadishu, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Bujumbura and Juba that are not only predominantly pre-occupied by the business fraternity but also by tourists who would prefer direct flights to Uganda.

Notable from the analysis are the un-served markets, including Kinshasa, Zanzibar, Lagos, Accra, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Brazzaville, Djibouti, Tel Aviv, Harare, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, London and Dubai that will nevertheless be pre occupied with the arrival of the Two Airbuses in 2020 where interconnection to Uganda shall require an intermediate stop in all destinations.

This leaves all Ugandans optimistic that, Uganda Airlines will enhance socio-economic transformation of our country more so by boosting the Tourism Industry.

The Writer is a Communication Assistant at Government Citizen Interaction Centre (GCIC), Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.