Kampala, Uganda | URN | Uganda Airlines’ Airbus A330-800neo is returning to the skies after almost three months of maintenance-related grounding.
Airbus A330-800neo resumed its flights to London Gatwick on Monday, 4th May 2026. It has already been flown on the Dubai and Mumbai routes starting from 17th April.
The resumption follows several months of unscheduled maintenance on both A330neos due to Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine issues.
Uganda Airlines was forced to sub-charter (wet-lease) Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing 787 to maintain the London service.
The short-term wet lease was to protect slots and maintain service continuity while Uganda’s own wide-bodies were unavailable.
This was not only to help keep the passengers served, but also to avoid losing the permission to land at Gatwick, as the parking slots are offered under the “use-it-or-lose-it” terms and conditions.
It is not clear whether the wet-lease for the Ethiopian registered aircraft ET-ASI, is effectively ending, with the Boeing 787-8 returning to Ethiopian Airlines, as some sources at Entebbe say, or will remain to support the returning Airbus until the second one is also able to fly again.
Uganda Airlines currently operates a fleet that consists of two Airbus A330-800neo, one A320-200, and four Bombardier CRJ900s, as well as two leases.
Last year, the deal was extended for another year until May 2026 to strengthen capacity, especially with new destinations like Kinshasa and Lagos.
The company also has another wet-lease arrangement in which it secured the Airbus A320-200 in late 2024 for a short term, with Danish wet-lease and charter airline DAT Lithuanian Airlines.
One aircraft was grounded since January 11, 2026, and the second around February 19–20, 2026, with the full long-distance fleet effectively out of service by late February.
