How Uganda Airlines is disrupting the passenger market out of Uganda – Part 1

October 10, 2025 in Business, Companies, Trade & Industry, Transport, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Michael Wakabi

For Uganda Airlines and its passengers, August 27, 2025, passed like any other day. Few might have realised it marked the carrier’s sixth anniversary—or that, in just six years, the airline has upended Uganda’s air travel market. From a modest start, the flag carrier has risen to become the dominant operator out of Entebbe, leading in both passenger numbers and revenue.

“This has been the best year for us across all parameters,” says Chief Commercial Officer Adedayo Olawuyi. “That’s in terms of revenue generation, network development, and passenger numbers.”

In the past year, the airline added Abuja, Lusaka, Harare, and London to its network—new routes that have strengthened connections, boosted transit traffic, and lifted overall revenues

By the end of fiscal year 2024/25, which closed in June, the flag carrier accounted for 27 percent of total passenger traffic and an equal share of revenue from Entebbe International Airport. The previous year, its market share stood at 24 percent. The growth to 27 percent, notably, came off a larger base of passengers and earnings.

Uganda Airlines now leads the market, followed by Ethiopian Airlines with 11 percent of traffic, Kenya Airways at 9 percent, and Emirates with 5 percent. The figures reflect the Ugandan carrier’s expanding destinations, increased frequencies, and enhanced global connections. The route network now comprises 17 destinations with three of  which– Dubai, London and Mumbai intercontinental.

If looked at from the context of the African market, Uganda Airlines carried 37 percent of Africa region bound passengers and generated 49 percent of revenue out of Entebbe in the year under review. Ethiopian followed with 18 percent, Kenya Airways 14 percent, and RwandAir, 7 percent.

The new routes have been pivotal. After launching Abuja, Harare, and Lusaka during the second quarter of 2024, Uganda Airlines added London in May 2025—just 13 days before the close of its financial year.

The network linkages between Abuja, Lagos, Harare, Lusaka, Nairobi, and London have produced powerful synergies. The Harare–Lusaka route has grown so fast that the airline is looking to increase weekly frequencies from 4 to 6 before the end of the year to strengthen connections to London and Nairobi.

“We are still surprised by the speed of the London ramp-up,” Olawuyi admits. “We’re seeing a surge in internal network traffic because of the new routes. Abuja–Nairobi, for instance, shifted our numbers out of Nigeria since we’re the only other carrier besides Ethiopian serving Abuja from here.”

The Abuja flight connects seamlessly with evening and early-morning departures to Nairobi, offering short transit times. Abuja and Lagos are now key feeders for Mumbai and London services—a sign of how fragmented African air connectivity remains.

London Gatwick

On May 18, 2025, Uganda Airlines made its maiden flight to London Gatwick, marking the return of a Ugandan-registered airline to UK skies after more than two decades. Skeptics in the local travel trade doubted the route’s viability, believing that London Heathrow was the only viable gateway. By June 2024; 87 percent of Uganda-bound passengers from London departed via Heathrow, with just 13 percent using Gatwick.

In one of the most dramatic shifts in recent air transport history, Uganda Airlines has flipped that pattern. By June 2025—just six weeks after launching Entebbe–London—64 percent of Uganda-bound passengers from London were flying through Gatwick. Average one-way fares between Uganda and London fell from USD 370 to USD 264.

By August, during the peak summer season, the airline was achieving an average load factor of 72 percent on the route, with many flights running at full capacity. The London service accounted for 21 percent of Uganda Airlines’ total revenue in August, up from 19 percent in July.

“We’ve now reached a point where London contributes the highest revenue on our network,” says Olawuyi. “That’s despite the fleet constraints limiting us to four weekly flights and the small capacity of the CRJ fleet feeding the A330.”

Despite this success, Olawuyi laments that limited fleet capacity is curbing further growth.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we unpack the challenges behind the growth — from fleet limitations to route economics and regional policy dynamics.