Traders and other travelers between Uganda and Saudi Arabia will have another option to choose from after Flynas, a Saudi-based low-cost carrier, officially launched direct flights between connecting Riyadh to Entebbe International Airport.
According to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), the inaugural Flight XY345, an Airbus 320 Neo, landed at Entebbe International Airport last Thursday, January 16, 2025.
The Airbus 320 neo was welcomed with a water cannon salute. Flynas will operate three weekly flights to Entebbe every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.
“Whenever a new airline joins the airspace with direct flights, it positively impacts growth in traffic, presents various direct and indirect opportunities for industry players, including handling agents, and those involved in the tour and travel business, among others,” UCCA said in a statement to UTN.
“Above all, competition usually fosters economic growth and leads to better service provision. It is, therefore, good news for the growth of Uganda’s aviation sector,” the aviation controller noted.
Online sources indicate that Flynas has expanded to some other African countries as well as other cities in the Middle East in the past few weeks.
“Last week, Flynas celebrated its first direct flight between Jeddah and Djibouti, further expanding its network in Africa. As of January 8, Flynas started operating three weekly flights between Jeddah and Djibouti, extending the travel options it offers to its guests traveling to and from Africa,” the Middle East Economy website reported.
According to the same media outlet, “In late December, Flynas celebrated the inaugural flight from Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport to Red Sea International Airport (RSI), marking the first direct link between the Eastern Region and the Red Sea destination.”
“The airline also launched three weekly direct flights between Prince Muhammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah and Sphinx International Airport in Cairo, increasing the frequency of its flights to the Egyptian capital. Starting December 11, flynas started operating three weekly flights on the new route, further expanding its flight network to Africa,” Economy reported further.
Uganda is currently served by 18 international scheduled operators. In 2024, UCAA granted Air Services License (ASL) to 10 more operators, new Licenses were granted to seven operators while Renewal Licenses were granted to 3 operators.
Other new operators/new routes include; Premier Airlines which commenced flights on December 5, 2024, between Juba and Entebbe, Kush Air which commenced flights on December 6, 2024, between Juba and Entebbe and Uganda Airlines which commenced three new routes Lusaka, Abuja and Harare in September 2024.
In terms of air traffic, international passengers at Entebbe grew from 1,932,094 in 2023 to 2,243,104 as of December 2024.
Cargo handled by the airport grew from 40,911.475 tonnes in 2023 to 44,865.43 in 2024 for exports while imports grew from 18,161.1091 tonnes to 22,233.17 under the same period.
