ENTEBBE — The leadership of Uganda Airlines has briefed Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on plans to expand the national carrier’s operations and strengthen its long-term commercial performance.
The airline’s executive team, led by Acting Chief Executive Officer Girma Wake, met Gen Kainerugaba at the Special Forces Command Headquarters in Entebbe on Monday to present the carrier’s strategic growth plan.
The delegation included Chief Finance Officer Allan Joel Kyeyune, Acting Manager for Human Resource and Administration Anne Apio, and Acting Chief Commercial Officer Shakila Lamar Rahim.
The briefing comes amid structural changes at Uganda Airlines aimed at strengthening corporate governance, stabilising daily operations and positioning the carrier for sustained commercial growth.
The management outlined plans to improve the utilisation and performance of its existing fleet while expanding international connections from Entebbe to Asia, Europe, the Middle East and key African hubs.
The airline also plans to introduce domestic routes to respond to growing demand for air travel within Uganda.
Beyond route expansion, management said the carrier is seeking to reduce operational costs by bringing some critical services in-house.
These include aircraft maintenance and ground-handling operations, alongside efforts to train and develop Ugandan aviation professionals.
The strategy is intended to reduce the airline’s dependence on external service providers while building local technical capacity within Uganda’s aviation sector.
The airline leadership emphasised that sustained government backing and collaboration with industry stakeholders would be necessary to implement the strategy successfully.
Gen Kainerugaba commended the management team for the progress made and pledged his support for the airline’s growth plans.
He noted that a strong national carrier would play an important role in Uganda’s economic ambitions, particularly by supporting trade, regional integration and connectivity.
The engagement comes as Uganda Airlines seeks to move beyond its role as a symbolic national carrier and establish itself as a commercially sustainable airline capable of supporting the country’s wider economic strategy.