Uganda Airlines this morning made history with its inaugural nonstop service from Entebbe International Airport to London Gatwick. The Airbus A330-800neo lifted off at 10:15 AM local time and is due to land at 4:55 PM in the United Kingdom, restoring a direct air link that Uganda has lacked for almost a decade. The route will now run four times a week—on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—with same-day returns to Entebbe.
At the send-off ceremony, airline chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki said the schedule is timed to give passengers onward connections across the carrier’s African network, “linking London to key cities in East, Central, and West Africa.” Transport minister Gen. Katumba Wamala called the flight “a bridge for business, investment, and people-to-people ties,” noting that direct service eliminates costly layovers and speeds up cargo and tourism traffic.
Trade between Uganda and the U.K. reached roughly Shs 4.2 trillion (£860 million) last year, while Ugandan exports to Britain over the past five years topped Shs 11.2 trillion (£2.3 billion). Officials expect the new route to push those numbers higher and draw more British visitors to Uganda’s mountain gorillas, national parks, and cultural sites.
Airbus executive Gabriel Semelas congratulated the airline, saying the fuel-efficient A330-neo “shows how East Africa can connect to the world with lower costs and better service.” Uganda Airlines, revived in 2019, now operates two of the long-range jets and sees the London launch as a springboard to other intercontinental destinations.
