Uganda Airlines touched down in Nigeria on October 19, marking the inauguration of its new Entebbe-Lagos flights.
The service will be operated three times a week with the Airbus A330neo. Following the inaugural flight, the airline is eyeing more destinations in the West African country.
The Ugandan flag carrier, affectionately known as the Crane, has added Lagos as its 13th international destination.
The first flight UR900 departed Entebbe International Airport (EBB) at 16:22 and arrived at Murtala Muhammed International (LOS) at 18:26. It was welcomed with a water jet salute, marking a momentous occasion for the East African carrier.
The return flight UR901 was operated on the same day, departing LOS at 20:49 and arriving at EBB at 02:30 local time. The service will run on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays with the following schedule:
- Entebbe-Lagos: UR900: 07:00-09:30 (Sun & Mon); 16:00-18:30 (Thu).
- Lagos-Entebbe: UR901: 11:00-17:30 (Sun & Mon); 20:00-02:30+1 (Thu).
The aircraft operated on the route has registration 5X-NIL and is one of two A330-800s the airline received about two years ago. While it is a very unpopular type, it is the only wide body equipment in the carrier’s fleet. The rest of the fleet comprises four CRJ900LRs.
Uganda Airlines is now the only scheduled carrier operating non-stop flights between Uganda and Nigeria. Launching this service will significantly reduce the traveling time from over ten to four hours. The schedule also targets connecting traffic to Mumbai, Dubai, and Johannesburg, as flying through Entebbe provides short connection times.
The inaugural flight was sent off with an event at Entebbe Airport attended by various airline executives and stakeholders.
After landing in Lagos, delegates gathered for the Nigeria-Uganda Trade and Tourism Business Forum to encourage trade relations between the two countries and leverage opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Speaking at the event, Uganda Airlines CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki said,
