Twenty-four domestic scheduled and non-scheduled airlines and 17 international operators are currently conducting flights within Uganda. Last week, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) board heard presentations from the eight local airline operators to secure licenses for scheduled and non-scheduled air operations. Four of the eight airlines were applying for new license renewal and the other four were new operators.
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The four airlines applying for renewal of their air services licenses are Entebbe Airways, Uganda Air Cargo, KAFTC trading as BAR Aviation, and Samaritans’ Purse International. The first-time applicants are Safari Air International, Panafric Aviation, DOTT Services, and Aberdair Aviation Uganda.
According to the report, the specifics of the startup’s applications are:
- Dott Services Limited has applied for an ASL to operate a Cessna 510;
- Safari Air International Limited has applied for an ASL to operate Cessna Aircraft Company 421C Golden Eagle, Beech (twin piston) Baron G58, and the Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru single-piston-powered monoplane;
- Panafric Aviation Limited has applied for an ASL using Piper (twin turboprop) PA-34 Seneca; and
- Aberdair Aviation Uganda Limited has applied for an ASL using DHC-8-300, E110, and Airbus H125 helicopter.
Uganda’s airline industry is a mix of charter operators, freight airlines, and Uganda Airlines, the nation’s state-owned carrier. It is a revival of the former Uganda Airlines, which operated from 1977 until closing down in 2001. In the late 1990s, Uganda Airlines was in severe financial difficulties and its owner, the state of Uganda, decided to privatize it with investment from an outside airline. British Airways, Air Mauritius, Kenya Airways, and South African Airways showed interest, but all eventually pulled out. With no one wanting to buy the debt-ridden airline, the government closed it down in May 2001. Uganda Airlines relaunched in 2019, and its first flight was from Entebbe International Airport (EBB) to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi, Kenya.
