Uganda Airlines is planning to launch flights to London's Heathrow through Nairobi, Kenya, after the carrier won approval from UK authorities to operate the service through an intermediate airport, according to local media.
The company’s application for services received preliminary approval from the UK. However, it will take about two years for the UKCAA to carry out its security vetting of Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport, where the airline is based.
“In principle, we have two options – to wait until Entebbe International Airport has gone through a security audit by the UKCAA [United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority] so that we can fly direct from there, or go through a third country whose airport already has the necessary clearances,” Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Jenifer Bamuturaki is quoted as saying.
Uganda Airlines has been offered six intermediate airports which have UKCAA security clearance in Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Tunisia and Turkey. The stop-over is expected to be purely technical.
The airline's chief executive stated that the company held meetings to consider all the third-country options in a bid to find the best one to suit its operations. According to her, Kenya is a great option, but like Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, "it would involve some deviation off the regular flying track." Ghana has already been ruled out, while the airline is also examining the suitability of Algeria's and Egypt's airports.
She noted that the carrier is set to activate the arrangements it had previously reached with the UK to start operating during the summer of 2023.
“We now have to confirm with them and set up arrangements in line with our cargo designation. On the ground, we had already set up at the airport and what is left is for us to set up a marketing office and reactivate the slots we were initially allocated,” she said.