In a major boost to continental trade and tourism, Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda, has launched its maiden flight from Lagos to Entebbe, further widening connectivity between East and West Africa.

At the maiden flight to Lagos recently, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace development, Festus Keyamo said two other cities in Nigeria, Abuja and Kano, have been approved as entry points for Uganda airlines to make the Nigeria-Uganda route more open, accessible for passengers to and fro.

The minister, represented by the Director, Air Transport Management of the Ministry of Aviation and aerospace, Hassan Ejibunu, emphasised that Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) and the Yamoussoukro Declaration (YD) aim at liberalising intra-African air transport services in terms of market access and seamless air connectivity within the 54 African Countries.
He, however, challenged Nigerian local airlines to seize the opportunity in operating regional and continental flights to make SAATM and YD achieve their aims.

“We need to do this in the interest of our over 1.37 billion African people, which is 17.4 per cent of the world’s population. Aviation remains the best way for Africa to connect her people and promote intra-Africa business in line with Africa’s 2063 Agenda, as championed by our leaders.

“I will urge the Business Groups of both countries to latch on to the opportunities to make the Nigeria-Uganda route, one of the preferred routes in Africa-for-trade, investment and tourism,” he said.

Ugandan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Nelson Ocheger, said the flight was a concerted effort of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both Uganda and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the respective Ministries of Works and Aviation to guide, review and implement the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between the two countries.

The envoy added that air transportation, as the major veritable means of connecting the people of Africa and enhancing trade, would do well in Nigeria. He urged other African countries to leverage on SAATM to attain the 2063 Agenda.

“There are ongoing efforts to promote technical cooperation and collaboration between the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, and the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA), located in Soroti, Uganda, as well as Uganda Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),” he said.

On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Airlines, Jennifer Bamuturaki said the Uganda airlines would eliminate connecting flights and man-hour loss occasioned due to the long flying hours.

She further said that it would reduce the initial 10 hours trip to Dubai to about eight hours and Mumbai to about 10 hours, cutting the long trip to 15 hours.

“So, we have closed that gap between East Africa and the West. Uganda airlines will be operating two levels three times a week,” she said.

Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Kabir Mohammed, represented by Director of Security Services, FAAN, Usman Abubakar Sadiq, assured the airline of their support and seamless operation between the two countries, looking forward to a greater relationship.

Minister for Trade, Uganda, Harriet Ntabazi, said the collaboration through aviation would look at trade opportunities by merging technologies from the two countries.

She added that Uganda airlines is hopeful of a reciprocation with the launch of Nigeria Air.