East African Carrier, Uganda Airlines, has gotten landing approvals into China. The move widens the national carrier’s launch of long-haul flights outside Africa.
According to softpower.ug, in March 2021, Uganda Airlines obtained landing slots at London’s Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom and Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda Airlines is also seeking approvals to more cities including Mumbai in India. The carrier, which resumed business in August 2019, has been operating flights within Africa.
Previously, travel to China required one to first fly to Dubai for about five hours, and spend some hours in transit, before connecting to another flight from Dubai to China, which takes about seven more hours. With the new milestone, one will need about nine hours of a straight flight from Entebbe Airport to China.
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A study conducted by Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) in 2017 indicated that the top five major destinations for Ugandans travelling through Entebbe International Airport were the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, China, United States of America, South Africa, and England.
In 2020, Uganda exported USD 40.5Million to China. During the last 25 years, Ugandan exports to China have increased at an annual rate of 26.4%, from USD115, 000 in 1995 to USD40.5Million in 2020.
Several Ugandan businessmen, therefore, look forward to Uganda Airlines’ flights to Guangzhou, China.
