Malawi Airlines moves closer to launching Entebbe route in regional expansion drive

August 14, 2025 in Business, Companies, The Business Interview by Editor

Malawi Airlines is advancing plans to launch direct flights to Entebbe, Uganda, as part of a wider East African network growth strategy that also includes prospective routes to Rwanda and Mozambique.

Sources told 256BN that the airline’s Foreign Operator Permit (FOP) application for Entebbe services, filed in May 2025, is in the final review stages at the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA). While UCAA officials declined to comment, industry sources indicated that the application is undergoing final security and safety checks, with Ugandan inspectors expected to travel to Lilongwe for technical assessments of the carrier and its departure facilities.

If approved, the move would expand passenger options between Uganda and southern Africa, reducing both travel time and costs by eliminating mandatory transit through Kenya or Ethiopia—currently the only viable regional connections due to limited inter-airline cooperation. Malawi would also become the 25th country with direct flights to Uganda and Lilongwe the 35th airport.

Malawi Airlines, which operates a fleet of two Boeing 737-700/800 aircraft and a De Havilland Canada Q-400, already runs four weekly non-stop flights between Lilongwe and Nairobi. The airline also serves Johannesburg, Harare, Lusaka, and Dar es Salaam, as well as a domestic Lilongwe–Blantyre route.

Definitive dates for the planned services to Kigali, Rwanda, and Nampula and Beira in Mozambique remain unconfirmed.

Formed in 2013 as a joint venture between the Malawi government and Ethiopian Airlines—which holds a 49pc stake—Malawi Airlines endured seven years of losses before breaking even in 2023. The Entebbe route would mark a fresh chapter in its bid for sustainable growth.