Uganda's national carrier has secured landing slots for its upcoming passenger service. The airline will use its new Airbus A330-800neo for the route and will serve it weekly. The link aims to cater to the business community, students, diplomats, and permanent residents from Uganda and facilitate cargo transfer.
East African carrier Uganda Airlines will connect the nation's sole international airport at Entebbe (EBB) on the shores of Lake Victoria to Guangzhou (CAN) in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong for the first time since the pandemic. Head of Public Relations at Uganda Airlines, Shakila Rahim Lamar, highlighted the benefits of the route opportunity:
“Currently, there is no direct flight from Entebbe to China, which brings an amazing opportunity to tap into this gap. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were more than 25,000 passengers from China to Uganda, according to 2019 travel data.”
Why Guangzhou?
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) authorized the resumption of scheduled passenger flights between Uganda and China, the third most popular destination for Ugandans traveling abroad. The announcement comes as China slowly reopens its borders to international air travel.
China is a significant trading partner of the East African nation. Exports of Uganda to China have increased at an annualized rate of 25% over the last twenty-five years to reach $405M in 2020. The direct air links eeks to facilitate travel and trade by enabling local business owners and traders to travel directly to their sources after two years of online business.
Uganda Airlines announced its intention to fly to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, a major hub in the Chinese Province of Guangdong, as early as 2020. Guangzhou Airport was notably the world's busiest airport in 2020, with almost 44 million passengers passing through the airport, which serves as a hub for China Southern Airlines.
China's largest airline recently resumed flights with an Airbus A380 from Guangzhou to Sydney and will use A380s on its weekly flights to Amsterdam and Los Angeles for the remainder of the summer.
The flag carrier has returned in style.
The Uganda Airlines of today is the relatively recent revival of the former Uganda Airlines, which operated from 1977 until 2001. The airline has an incredibly new fleet featuring four Bombardier CRJ900s and two widebody Airbus A330-800neos. The East African airline is one of only a handful worldwide to fly the latter type. The aircraft model was first delivered to Kuwait Airways, with Air Greenland and Garuda Indonesia still waiting on deliveries.
The somewhat elusive aircraft will fly on Uganda Airlines' long-haul services, including its existing rotations to Dubai and regional hops. Passengers will find a spacious interior onboard. The model features 20 business class lie-flat seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 210 economy class seats. In addition to previously announced plans to fly to London Heathrow, the airline will send its A330-800s to Mumbai and Riyadh.
Executives claim the appointment of the current CEO was a presidential directive. Photo: Airbus
The flights to London will occur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays once Uganda Airways receives its Foreign Carrier Permit to operate in the UK. In 2019, some 84,000 passengers flew between Entebbe and London, making Entebbe the second-largest unserved market from Africa to London.
Source. The East African, UBC