According to eTurboNews, Uganda’s government is considering reviving Uganda Airlines which was liquidated in 2001, due to high running costs and a large debt burden the government could not service quickly enough.
The State Minister for Transport, Stephen Chebrot, said a cabinet paper has been developed for further consultation with different interested parties, to pave a way forward for the return of Uganda’s national carrier.
Uganda Airlines was established in 1976 amidst strained relations between the partners of the former East African Airways – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The late Idi Amin ensured the airline got off the ground in 1977 with Entebbe Airport as its hub.
Uganda has had a sharp increase in the number of passengers transiting at Entebbe International Airport. The numbers hit 1.3 million passengers in 2012.
Although this number pales in comparison with Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya and Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, of four million passengers annually, expansion of Entebbe airport both in cargo handling and passenger terminals, will hopefully attract other airlines to the country and push passenger numbers up.