Overview:
The CEO, Jenifer Bamuturaki, while unveiling the route on Friday alongside officiials from the Nigerian High Commission, highlighted that the carrier has secured Foreign Operators Permits (FOPs) from regulatory authorities in India, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for the direct flights.
The Uganda Airlines has unveiled the Entebbe- Lagos direct route starting 19th October 2023.
The new route, according to the Uganda Airlines, will fly 3 times weekly.
This comes after the national carrier launched the Mumbai direct route, which also starts in October.
The CEO, Jenifer Bamuturaki, while unveiling the route on Friday alongside officiials from the Nigerian High Commission, highlighted that the carrier has secured Foreign Operators Permits (FOPs) from regulatory authorities in India, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for the direct flights.
A technical team from Nigeria recently visited Uganda for final assessments of Entebbe International Airport and the overall readiness of Uganda Airlines to commence the Lagos and Mumbai services.
The FOP for Nigeria covers rights to Lagos and Abuja, with a reciprocal understanding that Nigeria will enjoy similar rights to Entebbe once Nigeria Air, their forthcoming flag carrier, becomes operational.
Uganda Airlines has chosen to operate its initial Lagos service using the Airbus A330-800s in its fleet. The airline’s plans to initiate flights to Nigeria were initially set for July of the previous year, but regulatory complexities posed delays. However, these hurdles have now been cleared, and the airline is fully prepared for takeoff.
Bamuturaki expressed confidence in the airline’s readiness, stating, “We have everything we need to start. We have our offices already up and running in the three markets but we pushed the launch out to October because we thought we would be somewhat swamped given the time between completing all regulatory certifications and the initial launch dates.”