Uganda Airlines Sets Date For Maiden Direct Flight To Mumbai, India

Uganda Airlines has announced October 7, 2023, as the official date for launching  direct flights to Mumbai, India.

The national carrier made the announcement Friday at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala during the India-route launch breakfast with the Indian community and other stakeholders.

India’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Upender Singh Rawat, described the annunciation as a “historic moment for all of us.”

“It (the direct flights) will make life easy for us. The flights will be more useful. We are hoping for more flights outside Mumbai,” Rawat added.

Uganda Airlines will fly to Mumbai three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

The flights will benefit the  35,000 Indians living in Uganda, about 1,200 Ugandans studying in India and the business community.

The airline’s chief executive officer, Jennifer Bamuturaki, assured the Indian community of a lifestyle experience and “above all safety.”

“We have had a lot of pressure. Our shareholders were looking elsewhere. Our eyes were looking at Mumbai. It was the hardest. Why? The bureaucracy (in India). We are committed to bringing you a lifestyle the Ugandan way,” Bamuturaki said, promising the Indian community dinner in Uganda and breakfast in Mumbai.

As scheduled, the flights will kick off from Entebbe Airport at 8:05 p.m. and reach Mumbai at 6:05 p.m., a flight of 6 and a half hours as opposed to 12 and a half hours with stopovers with other airlines.

This will be the airline’s second international flight for the national carrier after Dubai.

Uganda Airlines on October 04, 2021 officially launched its maiden flight to Dubai in what was described as a game-changing milestone for the national carrier.

Uganda Airlines plies the Dubai route using the state-of-the-art Airbus A330-800neo.

Andrew Kintu, the Manager of Transaction Advisory Services at Grant Thompson, and the organizers of the breakfast meeting from which the announcement was made said the direct flight is going to unlock many opportunities.

According to Kintu, India spends about $12.4 billion on travel alone annually. He said the flights will open Uganda to the world as a tourist destination. Apart from connecting Uganda to the rest of the world, Kintu said that the flights will also provide connections for Uganda’s agricultural products abroad with its cargo section. Additionally, he said that the cost of medical care and education in India will be significantly lower. “We are excited to see this,” Kintu said.