Uganda Airlines Flight UR 720 departed Entebbe at 10am local time on September 25, 2024 on its maiden flight to Lusaka, Zambia and Harare, Zimbabwe, marking the 15th and 16th destinations in the airline's network, just two weeks after the airline added Abuja to its Lagos service.

Harare and Lusaka will be served four times a week, marking the first time in 23 years that the two capitals will be served by a direct flight from Uganda. Uganda Airlines' entry is a potential disruptor for competitors Ethiopian Airways, Kenya Airways and RwandAir, which have been feeding off connecting traffic from Entebbe to various points in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

RwandAir flies to Harare and Lusaka, while KQ and Ethiopian fly several times a day to Harare and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Lusaka and Livingstone in Zambia.

The two destinations generate significant business travel to Uganda and visits from friends and relatives, while Uganda Airlines is also counting on them to provide connecting traffic for its flights to India, Dubai and later London, which officials say will be launched before the end of the year.“We are happy to return to the capitals of Zambia and Zimbabwe, countries whose history and culture are closely linked to Uganda. These two destinations, which expand options for travel between East Africa and Southern Africa, demonstrate our commitment to increase travel options for Africans by providing safe affordable and reliable air transport services to connect the continent,” said Jenifer Bamuturaki, the CEO of Uganda Airlines.

Airline officials who spoke to The EastAfrican said the launch of flights to London is now more certain as the carrier has secured key certifications. Slots for the flights, which will land at London Gatwick twice a week, as well as offices and service contracts for various aspects of the airline's operations, have already been secured, they said.

The launch is expected in early December.

But as the route network expands, with Accra in Ghana on the radar, the airline faces a capacity crunch. Internally, officials are concerned that the current fleet of six aircraft has reached its capacity limits. The six CRJ-900s, which are already doing the heavy lifting on 13 routes, cannot accommodate a new route or additional frequencies within the existing network. The two A330s that are the primary fleet on the Dubai, Lagos and Mumbai routes can only accommodate the planned London services.

Without additional capacity through purchase or lease, further growth will not be possible, putting the planned route to Guangzhou, China, in jeopardy.

While shareholders have approved the acquisition of two Airbus A320s as early as next year and two Boeing 787-800 Dreamliners around 2030, no commitments have been made in terms of pre-delivery payments to the manufacturers.

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