Uganda’s premier airline launched direct flights from Uganda to Somalia, signaling what could be the start of intense competition on an increasingly busy destination route.
Offering service three times a week between Entebbe International Airport and Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport, Air Uganda becomes the second international carrier after Turkish Airlines to begin servicing Somalia as it recovers from two decades of civil war. The new two-hour direct service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday follows its introduction in May of a four-times-weekly service from Entebbe to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania’s main tourism zone.
Executives say they are targeting Somali travelers, government officials, military personnel and a growing number of entrepreneurs from around the region who are seeking business opportunities in the new Somalia. The return ticket to Entebbe is US$600.
Somalia’s minister of information recently announced that the watchdog International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had removed Aden Adde Airport from the Zone 5 list of airports deemed to pose a security risk to aircraft, crew and passengers.
Though privately owned, Air Uganda is considered Uganda’s national carrier in the absence of the government-owned Uganda Airlines, which collapsed in 2001.
Turkish Airlines began twice-weekly flights between the Ankara, the Turkish capital, and Mogadishu in March 2012. It has since increased its service to five flights a week because of heavy demand. The cost of a return ticket has also increased, to more than $1,500 from $550 when the service launched.
Some contend that Air Uganda, which only began operating in 2007 and which is deploying relatively new aircraft, aims to cut into Nairobi’s passenger-transit business.
Passengers from Europe and North America bound for Somalia often transit at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, where they connect with short-haul services such as Kenya-based Jetlink and African Express Airways, and Somali-based Jubba Airways and Daallo Airlines. Passengers have complained about the safety and comfort of these services and about “the hassle” at Jomo Kenyatta Airport.
“If Air Uganda can reduce its return ticket to around $400, it will attract those flying from Europe to switch to Entebbe Airport for $600 return…from London to Mogadishu via Entebbe will cost less than $1,000,” notes the moderator at Somalia Online, a discussion forum.
The price reduction will also force Turkish Airlines to follow suit. “This is the kind of competition that is needed,” the moderator says.
