Crane Cargo Boom as Uganda Airlines Readies for Direct Entebbe-London Flights
Uganda Airlines’ Cargo department is expected to significantly boom as Uganda Airlines readies for the inaugural non-stop flights to London Gatwick from the 18th of May 2025.
Flight time from Entebbe International Airport to London Gatwick Airport is expected to significantly reduce to almost by half to 9 hours.
Speaking on the development, Uganda Airlines’ manager for cargo and logistics services Mr. Maurice Ongwech Said ; “We have had so much traffic in terms of inquiries from customers, calls for bookings and with some customers actually looking to take the entire space that we have on offer”
Mr. Ongwech emphasized that the exporter should choose Uganda Airlines as their choice of carrier from Entebbe into the UK for a number of reasons including time because the journey will be significantly reduced to almost half so in 9 hours, the goods will be delivered to London since it’s a direct flight with no stopovers.
Speaking on behalf of exporters, Dr. James Kanyije the CEO of KK Fresh Produce Exporters Ltd noted that his company is projecting to have 10 tonnes of chilli every week, 10 tonnes of hot paper and is projecting to triple sweet potatoes, and looks to be having on every flight 10 tonnes of each product.
Dr. Kanyije hopes that the direct flights to London will change how fresh produce has been exported because goods will be arriving within same day. Previously, goods from Entebbe to London, were taking more than 20 hours, so reduction in time will help maintain freshness of produce and enhance the quality of the Ugandan products sold on the UK market.
Uganda Airlines is operating wide-body aircraft for the London route providing containerized loading, meaning there’s minimal handling and interference with the products from the point of loading and the next point of unloading is the destination rather than at a transit location.
Uganda Airlines started cargo uplift in 2021 and the goal was to promote export of Uganda’s products at competitive prices which mandate has been served well and Uganda Airlines still continues to promote exports and export volumes have continuously grown to double-digit figures.
With the start of flights to the UK, Uganda Airlines is expected to play a pivotal role in opening the European Market.
