Meridiana Africa Airlines (Uganda) Limited, trading as Air Uganda,
was a privately owned airline in
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
from 2007 to 2014. It suspended its operations when the
Uganda Civil Aviation Authority
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is the government agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and regulating civil aviation matters in the country. It is administered by the Ministry of Works and Transport (Uganda), Uganda Ministry ...
(UCAA) revoked the airline's
air operator's certificate
An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial air transport purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and s ...
.
Air Uganda had been widely recognized as the
national carrier since the collapse of
Uganda Airlines in May 2001.
Headquartered in
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
, with its operations base at
Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...
, Air Uganda used three aircraft to operate scheduled flights between
Entebbe
Entebbe is a city in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda which is located on Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda pri ...
and various destinations in
eastern and
central Africa
Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
.
History
Air Uganda was formed in 2007 and began commercial flight operations on 15 November 2007. It transported over 70,000 passengers within its first twelve months, with an average load factor of 70 percent between Entebbe and
Juba, South Sudan
Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a population of 525,953 in 20 ...
. The load factor between Entebbe and
Nairobi
Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
averaged 60 percent during the first year of operation.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, Air Uganda announced plans to start domestic service during 2012. This required the airline to acquire appropriate aircraft to serve the domestic market.
In 2012, Air Uganda began self-handling at its hub at Entebbe International Airport and was authorised to handle any other airline that used its handling services. The move saved the airline at least US$700,000 annually.
In November 2013, the airline marked the sixth anniversary of its founding. At that time, it was the only Ugandan airline licensed by the UCAA to operate regularly scheduled flights to neighboring countries.
In May 2014, Air Uganda became a full member of the
African Airlines Association, a trade organization of the industry on the continent. In the same month, the airline was admitted to the
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
.
On 17 July 2014, Air Uganda suspended operations indefinitely after the issuer of its licence, the UCAA, ran into problems. The UCAA had failed a safety audit by the
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
in June 2014, resulting in the UCAA withdrawing licenses it had issued to air operators. At the time, Air Uganda said its potential re-certification was weeks away and that lessors had recalled their aircraft, opening a window for other carriers to grow passenger volumes in its area of operations.
Corporate affairs
Ownership and associated companies
Meridiana Africa Airlines (Uganda) Limited was wholly owned by the Celestair Group, which in turn is owned by the
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development SA is a Swiss for-profit entity and international development finance institution which invests in countries of East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
I ...
(AKFED). AKFED also controls
Air Burkina and
Air Mali, the national airlines of
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
and
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
, respectively, and has an interest in Europe in
Meridiana
Meridiana Fly S.p.A., operating as Meridiana (formerly named ''Meridiana S.p.A.''), was a privately owned Italy, Italian airline headquartered in Olbia with its main base at Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport. It operated scheduled and charter flight ...
.
Business trends
Because it was a private company, annual reports for Air Uganda were not published. In the absence of these, the little information that became available is shown below:
Destinations
Code share agreements and partnerships
During the second half of 2008, Air Uganda signed codeshare agreements with
Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) () is the flag carrier airline of Tanzania. It is based in Dar es Salaam, with its Airline hub, hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport.
It was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) in 1977 aft ...
on the Entebbe / Kilimanjaro International Airport, Entebbe / Dar es Salaam, and Entebbe /
Zanzibar
Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
routes, which both airlines serviced. Code share agreements were also signed with
Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew ...
on the Entebbe / Juba, South Sudan route serviced by Air Uganda and on the Entebbe /
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
route serviced by
Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew ...
. These arrangements were soon followed by similar agreements between Air Uganda and
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...
.
In early 2009, Air Uganda made arrangements with
Marsland Aviation for the latter to transport Air Uganda ticketed passengers between Juba and
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan.
Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
and between Khartoum and Juba. Air Uganda traveled this route two days a week. Marsland Aviation carried Air Uganda passengers the remaining five days of the week when Air Uganda did not service the route.
In June 2010, Air Uganda signed a codeshare agreement with Rwandair on the Entebbe / Kigali route. Air Uganda served the route with a daily morning flight, while Rwandair provided a daily evening flight. Both airlines served the route with
CRJ-200 aircraft. Those arrangements were halted by Air Uganda effective March 2012.
On 14 August 2013, a new codeshare agreement was entered between Air Uganda and Rwandair on the Entebbe / Kigali route. The agreement became effective immediately.
In January 2014, Air Uganda signed a codeshare agreement with
Precision Air
Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, DSE:PAL) is a List of airlines of Tanzania, Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled pa ...
of Tanzania on the Entebbe / Dar es Salaam and the Entebbe / Kilimanjaro International Airport routes.
As of November 2013, Air Uganda maintained Interline partnerships with the following airlines: Brussels Airlines,
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
,
Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its Airline hu ...
, Qatar Airways,
Gulf Air
Gulf Air () is the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline operates scheduled flights to 51 destinations in 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The airline's main hub is at Bahrain I ...
, Air Mali, Precision Air, Hahn Air, and RwandAir.
Fleet

The Air Uganda fleet consisted of the following aircraft as of April 2014, although in July 2014 they were reported as being returned to the European contractor from which they were leased:
Incidents and accidents
* On 9 January 2010, the United States Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, warned of a possible terrorist threat on Air Uganda planes traveling between Juba, South Sudan, and Entebbe, Uganda. According to the embassy, it had received information that indicated "a desire by regional extremists to conduct a deadly attack on board Air Uganda aircraft." According to the Sudanese foreign ministry, however, the threat was not considered serious. The
Uganda People's Defence Force
The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...
said they had been aware of this information since early December 2009, although a Ugandan government spokesman said there was nothing to support such claims.
See also
*
Airlines of Africa
Airlines have proliferated in Africa because, in many countries, road and rail networks are not well developed due to financial issues, terrain, and rainy seasons. Ben R. Guttery, author of ''Encyclopedia of African Airlines'', said "Although m ...
*
List of airlines of Uganda
References
External links
Behind Air Uganda groundingAs of 25 August 2014.
{{Authority control
Defunct airlines of Uganda
Aga Khan Development Network
Airlines established in 2007
Kampala District
Ugandan brands
2007 establishments in Uganda
Airlines disestablished in 2014