Uganda’s revived national carrier, Uganda Airlines, celebrated its first year of operations since it took to the skies after almost 20 years since it was liquidated by the government. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Airline Company, Cornwell Muleya, over 75,000 passengers have been transported over the course of the year.

As the airport awaits reopening (following closure due to the COVID-19 global pandemic) , Cornwell Muleya announced that the company has also finalized the recruitment of staff to work in new larger aircraft for the longer routes. that Uganda Airlines plans to start flying.

Uganda Airlines was re-launched using six new jets, two of which are wide-body, long-range A330-800neo and the other four being CRJ900 aircraft. The government of Uganda made an equity investment of approximately US$70 million and loans totaling $330 million, borrowed from regional lenders such as the Trade and Development Bank, to complete the purchase.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Uganda Airlines shall continue with its plans to make its mark on the African continent and beyond.

Until its revival, Uganda had been without a national airline since a previous incarnation of Uganda Airlines collapsed in 2001. Meanwhile, privately owned Air Uganda ceased operations five years ago.

It is expected that when Kabaale International Airport is completed in 2021, a network of flights to local, regional and international destinations, will be developed around the new airport.

“Our plans are ongoing and on course, we committed at the beginning that in addition to developing the regional networks of which we have developed nine, we still have a few more to get to the eighteen or twenty that we require for Africa. We said we are going to extend the network to intercontinental destinations, we want to go to London, we want to go to Dubai, we want to go to Guangzhou with the A330s. As a start we also want to connect to West Africa and Southern Africa where that capacity is required.

“The company has also finalized the recruiting staff for two new Airibus A330 aircraft that are expected in the country by December so we have been busy bringing in the skills that will require pilots , engineers ,flight attendants and a lot more skills that are required for that aircraft so we can look forward to next year,” said Muleya.

This year embattled South African airways that had direct flights to OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg out of Entebbe International Airport closed shop in a restructuring of its regional routes creating an opportunity for the national carrier to fill the gap prior to the lock down in March.

Uganda Airport Closed

Meanwhile, Uganda airspace remains closed to international scheduled passenger flights as the Civil Aviation Authority puts in place Standard Operational Procedures (SOPS) in observance of COVID-19 requirements.

Initially founded under the Idi Amin’s regime, following the collapse of East African Airlines, Uganda Airlines was established in 1976 as the National Carrier. Airlines’ operations also included the lucrative ground and cargo handling until its liquidation in 2001.

Emirates announced the resumption of passenger services to Lusaka with two weekly flights to/from Dubai effective 4 September, which will boost the airline’s global network to 79 cities.

The restart of services to Lusaka will offer Emirates customers in Zambia the opportunity to travel to Dubai, as well as an array of onward connections to Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Americas through the airline’s Dubai hub. The addition of Lusaka also broadens Emirates’ reach into Africa with nine destinations served.

Flights to Lusaka will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER. Starting from 4 September, 2020 Emirates will serve Lusaka on Fridays and Sundays. Emirates’ flight EK 713 will depart from Dubai at 0820hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 1330hrs. The return flight, EK 714 departs Lusaka at 1530hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0025hrs the next day. Customers can book flights on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors. Ensuring the safety of travellers, visitors, and the community, COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from.

Destination Dubai: From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai is one of the most popular global destinations. In 2019, the city welcomed 16.7 million visitors and hosted over hundreds of global meetings and exhibitions, as well as sports and entertainment events. Dubai was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.

Flexibility and assurance: Emirates’ booking policies offer customers flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers who purchase an Emirates ticket by 30 September 2020 for travel on or before 30 November 2020, can enjoy generous rebooking terms and options, if they have to change their travel plans due to unexpected flight or travel restrictions relating to COVID-19, or when they book a Flex or Flex plus fare. More information here. 

Free, global cover for COVID-19 related costs: Customers can now travel with confidence, as Emirates has committed to cover COVID-19 related medical expenses, free of cost, should they be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel while they are away from home. This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until 31 October 2020 (first flight to be completed on or before 31 October 2020), and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey. This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination. For more details: www.emirates.com/COVID19assistance. 

Health and safety: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: www.emirates.com/yoursafety.

Tourist entry requirements: For more information on entry requirements for international visitors to Dubai visit: www.emirates.com/flytoDubai.

Dubai residents can check the latest travel requirements at: www.emirates.com/returntoDubai.

Ethiopian Airlines Group successfully inaugurated a new passenger terminal at its hub Addis Ababa Bole International Airport with emphasis on Bio Security and Bio Safety measures.

The new terminal has check-in hall with sixty check-in counters, thirty self-check-in kiosks, ten self-bag drop/SBD/, sixteen immigration counters with more e-gate provisions, sixteen central security screening areas for departing passengers are the new faces of the airport. In addition, it has three contact gates for wide body aircraft along with ten remote contact gates with people mover – travellator, escalator, and panoramic lifts. It will house thirty-two arrival immigration counters with eight e-gate provisions at the mezzanine floor level.

The US$350 million new terminal expansion includes new duty-free shops, restaurants, escalators and many other accommodations to improve travelers’ comfort. The expansion includes 74,000 meters of space and is projected to increase the capacity of the airport to be able to handle up to 25 million travelers each year. Bole International Airport has now exceeded Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport as the largest capacity airport in Africa.

“I am very pleased to witness the realization of a brand-new terminal at our Hub," said Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. "While Addis Ababa Bole International Airport has overtaken Dubai to become the largest gateway to Africa, the new terminal will play a key role in cementing that position. What makes the new terminal unique is that it’s the first terminal in the world to be completed after COVID-19. It was designed, not re-purposed, with Bio safety and Bio security in mind. I’m sure our esteemed customers will highly appreciate that.”

Aviation infrastructure expansion is one of the core pillars of Ethiopian’s Vision 2025. Ethiopian is continuously working on expanding airport facilities. The features of the new airport play a key role in protecting passengers’ and employees’ safety as airport experience becomes contactless.

Attracting Chinese Tourists to Africa

Ethiopia sees the terminal expansion project as crucial to meeting the needs of the large numbers of Chinese tourists it wants to attract. Ethiopia recorded $190 million in revenue from 50,626 Chinese tourists that visited the country in 2018, according to Ethiopia's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. China is the third largest source of tourists visiting Ethiopia, only after the United States and Britain.

Other African countries also hope to improve on the relatively low number of Chinese visitors. Kenya, the third-largest tourism-driven economy in sub-Saharan Africa, is an example. Tourism contributes $7.9 billion, or about 8.8 percent, to the country's GDP. According to Xinhua News Agency, at least 230,500 Chinese nationals visited Kenya in 2018. The number is a significant surge from 192,300 in 2017 and 131,900 in 2016, said the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. However, the country, which depends on Addis Ababa's airport dubbed "East Gate of Africa," hopes to attract many times more than this number of Chinese tourists each year. The revenues of its tourism sector directly and indirectly supported 1.1 million Kenyan people in 2018, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Ethiopian Airlines has started facilitating a visa hub service to 35 African countries, helping Chinese and other foreign nationals to directly travel to Ethiopia and beyond without the need to transit through Beijing, where most African countries' embassies are located.

Ethiopian Airlines is planning to further upgrade its fleet by buying new aircraft from Airbus.

Ethiopian Airline is reportedly at the final stages of striking a $1.6 billion deal with European aerospace giant Airbus for the purchase of 20 of its narrow-body A220 jets. This is not the first time Africa’s largest air carrier is looking at purchasing the 100-seat Airbus A220s for its fleet. The airline was considering European jets last year, however, it eventually had decided to go with larger Boeing 737 family aircraft.

According to reports, Ethiopian Airlines is facing problems operating large Boeing 737 MAX on long haul flights, as it had to stop off at a second destination on flights from Addis Ababa to cities including Windhoek and Gaborone for refueling. Operating Airbus A220s will allow direct flights with no additional stops.

Ever since Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX jets have been grounded after two deadly crashes earlier this year, Airbus’ profits have been growing exponentially, while Boeing posted its largest-ever quarterly loss in July, calculating the total cost of the 737 MAX crisis at over $8 billion.

Ethiopian Airlines suffered the loss of one of its Max jets in a deadly crash in March 2019, the second fatal incident involving the plane model after Indonesia’s Lion Air jet plunged into the Java sea, leading to a global grounding of the aircraft. The dual disasters rocked the aviation industry and developing into one of the worst crises for Boeing in its 103-year history.

The agreement is set to be completed by the end of the year. Should the deal go through, it would be the airline’s first order since the crash of its Boeing 737 MAX in March.

Earlier this year, Ethiopian Airlines took delivery of the milestone Dash 8-400 aircraft. The aircraft is the 25th Dash 8-400 aircraft delivered to Ethiopian Airlines.

Ethiopian operates the youngest and most technologically advanced Fleet in Africa. The airline flies 11 million passengers annually to over 117 destinations and is fact emerging as Africa’s leading aviation company.

Ethiopian Airlines has launched a passenger flight to Bengaluru, India on 27 October 2019.

The capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, Bengaluru is dubbed ‘Silicon Valley of India’ and serves as the center of technology and innovation.

Commenting on the launch of the service, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “Ethiopian Airlines is a significant player in connecting India and Africa and beyond. The new four weekly flights will connect the important ICT hub city of Bengaluru to the ever-expanding Ethiopian network in addition to our twice daily flights each to the commercial city of Mumbai and the Capital New Delhi. The flights will also complement our existing dedicated freighter flights to/from Bengaluru.

The addition of Bengaluru to our Indian network will give wider menu of choices to the fastgrowing air travelers between India and Africa and beyond. The increasing flight frequencies and number of gateways in India will facilitate trade, investment and tourism to/from the Indian subcontinent. The schedule is carefully designed to connect passengers efficiently through our global hub in Addis Ababa with short connections and will provide the fastest and the shortest connections between Bengaluru in southern India and more than 60 destinations in Africa and South America.”

Currently, Ethiopian operates passenger flights to Mumbai and New Delhi as well as cargo service to Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi.