Africa-Press – Uganda. Uganda Airlines is the flag carrier of Uganda. The company is a revival of the older Uganda Airlines which operated from 1977 until 2001.
The collapse of the carrier back then was attributed to poor management and government’s loss of interest to do business following the full-blown implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) imposed by international bodies in the late 1980s.
Following studies and wide consultations, the Cabinet opted to relaunch Uganda Airlines, with six new jets, two of which are the wide-body, long-range A330-800 and the other four being CRJ900 aircraft.
The studies recommended an equity investment by the government of approximately $70 million (Shs261b) and loans totaling $330 million (Shs1.2 trillion), borrowed from regional lenders, such as the Trade and Development Bank, to complete the purchase.
On August 28, 2019, Uganda Airlines had its first commercial flight from Entebbe to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.
Soon after, the airline hit headwinds bigger than the turbulence planes face on their routes. There hasn’t been many positive stories around the airline in the past three years.
President Museveni, through the Works minister, Gen Katumba Wamala, has had to sack the board and then the managing director.
Some of the same vices that led to the collapse of the old carrier left ghosts that have come to haunt this ‘baby’.
Right from its resurrection, the company was meant to be handled with care but that has not happened.
All this has come at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the airlines industry hard, with tourism numbers taking a nosedive.
In addition, the cost of running an airline has gone up significantly that some carriers have had to close over the past few years including South Africa Airways.
However, it is too early to write off Uganda Airlines as a bad investment. Uganda has been desperate for a long time to widen opportunities beyond the conventional agriculture.
This carrier, even with all its impurities, is one step in the right direction. That it deserves support from the wider Ugandan public does not entitle the airline managers to drop the ball.
There has to be a time when decisions pertaining to the smooth running of the business cannot be hinged on phone call or letter to the President like has been the case for the past three years.
It must build capacity to survive the headwinds and that starts with appointing the right people in positions to take it from its infancy to adulthood.
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