The prospective Ugandan carriers are seeking Air Services Licences for commercial operations.
Four Potential New Carriers for Uganda
Eight airline operators have laid their cases before the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) for an Air Services Licence (ASL). Four new airlines and four existing ones gave presentations at the public hearing in Kampala on Friday, 20 May, hoping to secure licences for commercial operations. The potential new carriers are:
- Dott services limited, who will operate a Cessna 510
- Safari Air International Limited, whose fleet comprises a Cessna 421C ‘Golden Eagle’, a Beech Baron G58, and a Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru.
- Panafric Aviation Limited, who operates a Piper PA-34 Seneca
- Aberdair Aviation Uganda Limited, who own a De Havilland Dash 8, Embraer E110, and Airbus H125 Helicopter
The new candidates mainly applied for scheduled and non-scheduled operations and international cargo services. Dott services, an infrastructure firm in Uganda, also applied for a private international operations licence. The presentations were to help ensure that the new firms could meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Good News for the Aviation industry
As well as the four new airlines, four existing airlines applied for licence renewal. Those were: Entebbe Airways, Uganda Air Cargo, BAR Aviation and Samaritans’ Purse International. Uganda is home to 24 domestic scheduled and non-scheduled carriers and 17 international operators.
The UCAA welcomes the new applicants and the benefit they might bring to Uganda’s aviation industry. Their public affairs manager Vinney Luggya commented:
“To have more applicants seeking to commence air operations in Uganda’s air space is good news for the aviation industry.”
The body said the public hearing was in line with statutory requirements and that the board would give applicants their feedback later.
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