Air Uganda passengers grow by 39percent

Air Uganda has increased its regular service on the direct Mombasa to Entebbe route.

The carrier will now fly five times weekly from Tuesday through to Friday and Sunday in order to cater for the growing demand by customers on this route.

The carrier is the only airline in East Africa flying into the Coastal region from Uganda and has seen growth of 39 per cent in passenger numbers on this route in the last quarter.

The success is attributed to increased trade between Kenya and Uganda , with the Mombasa port being a key entry point for goods within the East Africa region. Air Uganda ’s Country Manager, Njeri Wachira said:

“Our Mombasa-Entebbe operation, is the only direct link on this route and has continued to exceed our expectations over the past year.

"We are pleased to build on this success by increasing our frequency to five times weekly,’ she added.

“When we commenced operations on this route in 2010 we promised to open up market opportunities for Kenya entrepreneurs in Uganda .

"This has been realized especially in manufacturing, construction, petroleum and the tourism sector.”

According to the tourism report provided by the Ministry of Tourism for 2011, Uganda recorded the highest number of tourists visiting Kenya from Africa , with a growth of 85.5 per cent (13,517 passengers) compared to the same period in 2010.

“We will continue to promote Mombasa as the tourist destination of choice in Uganda and work with various travel partners to further grow these the number of tourists visiting Mombasa,” said Njeri Wachira, Country Manager Air Uganda.

Business executives flying directly from Moi International Airport , Mombasa to Uganda will now not require to transit via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , an airport associated with congestion due to rapid increase in airlines flying into Nairobi .

“Our flying time from Mombasa to Entebbe is 01 hour, ensuring that time conscious business travellers, cut back on up to three hours travel time when using our fast, direct and affordable service,” added Njeri Wachira.

In its fourth year of operation, Air Uganda now flies three times daily to Entebbe from Nairobi and is poised to further open up market opportunities for East African entrepreneurs.

This year alone, the airline introduced flights to Bujumbura and then grew the frequency to four flights weekly, increased its service on Kigali and Juba to twice daily.

The airline continues to show great potential in growth and now has 54 weekly flights from its hub in Entebbe , Uganda .

Air Uganda is affiliated to Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

coastweek.com - 20-April-2012