Air Uganda suspension big gain for Kenya carrier
What you need to know:
- The airline used to fly from Uganda’s Entebbe airport to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Bujumbura, Kigali, Mogadishu, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa and Juba; connecting the regional cities.
Kenya Airways (KQ) is set to be a major beneficiary of the grounding of Air Uganda, which was the national carrier’s biggest competitor on the eastern Africa routes.
Air Uganda suspended operations indefinitely on June 17 after the issuer of its licence, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), ran into problems. CAA failed a safety audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in June, 2014, resulting in CAA withdrawing licenses it had issued to air operators. (READ: Air Uganda suspends operations indefinitely)
The airline used to fly from Uganda’s Entebbe airport to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Bujumbura, Kigali, Mogadishu, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa and Juba; connecting the regional cities.
Air Uganda says its potential re-certification is weeks away and that lessors have recalled their aircraft, opening a window for carriers like KQ to grow passenger volumes in the regional destinations.
This article first appeared in the Business Daily.
