Ugandan national carrier, Uganda Airlines prepares for its first international flight to Dubai early next month.
The new direct route will connect Entebbe International Airport in Uganda with Dubai, and is Uganda Airlines’ first trip outside of the African continent.
In times past, the airline had only operated within Africa, but from October 1st, it will begin the direct flight to Dubai, UAE.
Uganda Airlines plans to launch the trip in time for the UAE’s World Expo, which will be held in the first week of October.
The Uganda flag carrier will use a pair of its Airbus A330-800s to operate flight UR444 three times per week on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The two aircraft were added to the airline’s Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in August.
Earlier on, Uganda Airlines had planned to carry out the flight in July and then in August but was delayed due to a certification issue with the two A330neos: registrations 5X-CRN and 5X-NIL. However, the certification issue for the A330s was later resolved in August. With the two aircraft now allowed to operate commercial flights.
The other reason for postponing the trip is because of the international flight restrictions following the covid-19 pandemic outbreak, and a general lack of passenger traffic.
The Aviator Africa earlier reported that the UAE government had amended travel restrictions earlier imposed on passengers from Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Sierra Leon and Namibia effective August 5th, 2021.
According to a September 21 statement, Uganda Airlines although still in the budding stage has announced its plans for growth. The Dubai route will be the first intercontinental flight outside of Africa. The airline began operations in 2019.
Currently, Uganda Airlines only fly African routes which primarily includes Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, and Johannesburg. It also operates other routes to Somalia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
