Uganda Airlines
Encyclopedia
Uganda Airlines was the flag carrier
of Uganda
. The airline was established in May 1976, and started operations in 1977. It was headquartered in Entebbe
, Wakiso District
, Uganda, and operated from its hub in Entebbe International Airport
under the IATA airline code QU and the ICAO airline code code UGA; its callsign was UGANDA. Attempts were made by the Government of Uganda to privatise the company, but all potential bidders pulled out, eventually leading to the liquidation of Uganda Airlines Corporation in May 2001.
. It commenced operations in 1977, when the 1965-born company Uganda Aviation Services (UAS) was absorbed into Uganda Airlines, and the latter took over the UAS destination network.
Upon the creation of Alliance Air in late 1994, later known as SA Alliance, an entity jointly owned by the Tanzanian and Ugandan Governments, Air Tanzania
and Uganda Airlines, as well as by South African Airways
(SAA), Tanzania
and Uganda granted the rights of long-haul operations to the new airline. The agreement intended to feed Alliance Air's operations with both Air Tanzania and Uganda Airlines domestic and regional services. However, both regional carriers grew less than expected, and the deficit Uganda Airlines accumulated led the Ugandan Government to make a decision on whether to liquidate the airline or privatise it.
, when the Government of Uganda planned to privatise the debt-ridden airline, seeking for an investor to keep the company afloat. Initially, several firms held interest in taking over Uganda Airlines. SA Alliance/SAA, Air Mauritius
, British Airways
, Johannesburg
-based Inter Air, Kenya Airways
, and Sabena
, all seemed to be interested bidders at the beginning, but eventually declined to submit bids, except for SAA that remained the only bidder by early 1999. SAA would have had a 49% participation in the company; nevertheless, it later dropped its bid after encountering strong legislature opposition. Having no offers, the Ugandan Government liquidated the airline in 2001.
in Entebbe International Airport, in its heyday the company used to operate scheduled services to destinations within Africa
, Europe and Middle East; at the time of closure the airline served Bujumbura
, Dar-es-Salaam, Harare
, Kigali
, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza
and Nairobi. Following are destinations served by Uganda Airlines all through its history:
, the airline experienced 3 accidents/incidents throughout its history; only one of them yielded fatalities.
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The airline was established in May 1976, and started operations in 1977. It was headquartered in Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, Wakiso District
Wakiso District
Wakiso District is a district in Central Uganda that encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The district is named after the town of Wakiso, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
, Uganda, and operated from its hub in Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport is the principal international airport of Uganda.-Location:It is located near the town of Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria, and about from the capital, Kampala...
under the IATA airline code QU and the ICAO airline code code UGA; its callsign was UGANDA. Attempts were made by the Government of Uganda to privatise the company, but all potential bidders pulled out, eventually leading to the liquidation of Uganda Airlines Corporation in May 2001.
History
Uganda Airlines was founded by the Ugandan Government in May 1976, as a replacement of the services previously operated by East African AirwaysEast African Airways
East African Airways Corp. was an airline jointly run by three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania; and Uganda, which were then part of an East African Community. The airline was headquartered in the Sadler House in Nairobi, Kenya...
. It commenced operations in 1977, when the 1965-born company Uganda Aviation Services (UAS) was absorbed into Uganda Airlines, and the latter took over the UAS destination network.
Upon the creation of Alliance Air in late 1994, later known as SA Alliance, an entity jointly owned by the Tanzanian and Ugandan Governments, Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania is the national airline of Tanzania. Its main base is Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam.-History:Air Tanzania Corporation was established on 10 March 1977 after the breakup of East African Airways, which had previously served the region. Flights were started from...
and Uganda Airlines, as well as by South African Airways
South African Airways
South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
(SAA), Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Uganda granted the rights of long-haul operations to the new airline. The agreement intended to feed Alliance Air's operations with both Air Tanzania and Uganda Airlines domestic and regional services. However, both regional carriers grew less than expected, and the deficit Uganda Airlines accumulated led the Ugandan Government to make a decision on whether to liquidate the airline or privatise it.
Privatisation attempt and collapse
The airline was in a delicate cash position owing to mismanagement by the late 1990s1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, when the Government of Uganda planned to privatise the debt-ridden airline, seeking for an investor to keep the company afloat. Initially, several firms held interest in taking over Uganda Airlines. SA Alliance/SAA, Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius Limited, stylised as Air Mauritius, is the flag carrier of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered at the Air Mauritius Centre in Port Louis, Mauritius. Its main base is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport...
, British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
-based Inter Air, Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. The carrier's head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its main base at Jomo Kenyatta International...
, and Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
, all seemed to be interested bidders at the beginning, but eventually declined to submit bids, except for SAA that remained the only bidder by early 1999. SAA would have had a 49% participation in the company; nevertheless, it later dropped its bid after encountering strong legislature opposition. Having no offers, the Ugandan Government liquidated the airline in 2001.
Destinations
From its hubAirline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
in Entebbe International Airport, in its heyday the company used to operate scheduled services to destinations within Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Europe and Middle East; at the time of closure the airline served Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
, Dar-es-Salaam, Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
, Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza
Mwanza
Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...
and Nairobi. Following are destinations served by Uganda Airlines all through its history:
| City | Airport Code | Airport Name | Refs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IATA | ICAO | ||||
| Bujumbura | BJM | HBBA | Bujumbura International Airport Bujumbura International Airport Bujumbura International Airport is an airport in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.In 2008, the airport served 120,000 passengers.-Airlines and destinations:-Cargo airlines:... |
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| Köln KOLN KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials... |
CGN | EDDK | Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn... |
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| Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... |
FCO | LIRF | Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport | ||
| Nairobi | NBO | HKJK | Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport -Charter airlines:-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has its head office in the KAA Complex on the airport property. African Express Airways has its head office on the airport property... |
||
| Kigali | KGL | HRYR | Kigali International Airport Kigali International Airport Kigali International Airport , formerly known as Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the primary airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda... |
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| Johannesburg | JNB | FAJS | OR Tambo International Airport | ||
| Dar-es-Salaam | DAR | HTDA | Julius Nyerere International Airport Julius Nyerere International Airport Julius Nyerere International Airport -History:The German colonial Government built the first airport in Tanganyika at Kurasini in Temeke District in 1918. It was called Mkeja Airport.... |
||
| Kilimanjaro | JRO | HTKJ | Kilimanjaro International Airport Kilimanjaro International Airport Kilimanjaro International Airport is the second, albeit small, international airport of Tanzania . It serves the Kilimanjaro area including the cities of Arusha and Moshi near Mount Kilimanjaro, and the international tourism industry based on Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha National Park, Ngorongoro... |
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| Mwanza | MWZ | HTMW | Mwanza Airport Mwanza Airport Mwanza International Airport is a major regional international Tanzanian airport located in Mwanza City, Tanzania . It serves as the main hub for as well as Delavia- Far East Airways and a secondary hub for Precision Air and Air Tanzania.... |
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| Entebbe/Kampala Kampala Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen... |
EBB | HUEN | Entebbe International Airport | ||
| Dubai Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi... |
DXB | OMDB | Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai... |
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| London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
LGW | EGKK | Gatwick Airport | ||
| London | STN | EGSS | Stansted Airport | ||
| Lusaka Lusaka Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head... |
LUN | FLLS | Lusaka International Airport Lusaka International Airport Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is an international airport in Lusaka, Zambia, and was the hub of Zambian Airways. Formerly Lusaka International Airport, now called Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. The airport was renamed in honour of the first president of the Republic of Zambia Dr... |
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| Harare | HRE | FVHA | Harare International Airport Harare International Airport Harare International Airport is an airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and is the hub of Air Zimbabwe. The airport's runway, at , is one of the longest in Africa. It compares with OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South... |
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Codeshare agreements
Following is a list of companies Uganda Airlines had codeshare agreements with at the time of closure; routes were actually operated by Uganda Airlines:- Air Tanzania, Dar-es-Salaam and Johannesburg to/from Entebbe
- Emirates, Dubai to/from Entebbe
- Kenya Airways, Nairobi to/from Entebbe
Fleet
Historically, the company operated the following equipment:- Britten-Norman TrislanderBritten-Norman Trislander*LIAT*Montserrat Air Services*Air Queensland*Eagle Airways*Aero Services*Cayman Airways*TAVINA*Vision Air*Bali Int. Air Service*Trans Jamaican Airlines*Aero Cozumel*Great Barrier Airlines*Aero Taxi Intl*Aviones de Panama...
- Twin Otter
- Boeing 707-300CBoeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
- Boeing 727Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
- Boeing 737-200
- Boeing 737-200 Advanced
- Boeing 737-500
- Fokker F-27-600
- King Air 100Beechcraft King AirThe Beechcraft King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation...
- Lockheed L-100-30
Accidents and incidents
According to Aviation Safety NetworkAviation Safety Network
-External links:**...
, the airline experienced 3 accidents/incidents throughout its history; only one of them yielded fatalities.
- Flight 775 was an international scheduled London-Gatwick–Rome-Fiumicino–Entebbe passenger service that crashed because of poor visibility on the final stage of its first leg, during the approach phase to Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. The flight was operated with a Boeing 707-338CBoeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
, registration 5X-UBC. The aircraft broke up after hitting the roof of a building, and burst into flames. Out of 52 occupants aboard, there were 33 fatalities, while many survivors were seriously injured.