It took a long time, but Uganda Airlines
has finally confirmed the start of its London flights. Due to greater slot availability and lower fees/charges than London Heathrow, it will fly from Entebbe to London Gatwick.
The first takeoff is in less than two months, with little lead-in time to drive awareness and sales for a brand-new operator in the market. It will be the first time Uganda has had UK passenger flights following British Airways’ exit in 2015. It flew from Heathrow on the now-retired Boeing 767-300ER.
Photo: Uganda Airlines
Uganda Airlines to Gatwick
The tiny country’s flag carrier’s first UK service is now available to book. Starting on May 18, in time for the peak dry season, it will operate four times weekly on its sole widebody type: the rare Airbus A330-800. It has two examples, each with 258 seats in a three-class layout. Some 8% of capacity is business.
Aside from a handful of Kuwait Airways flights, it will become the A330-800’s primary UK service and the equipment’s new second-longest route. The launch of Gatwick flights will undoubtedly make my Weekly Routes article, which showcases a selection of intriguing services.
The route, which will cover 3,479 nautical miles (6,443 km) each way, is scheduled as follows, with all times local. The highly inconsistent schedule is primarily because of Gatwick’s slot shortage. Yes, it has more availability than Heathrow, but it is still limited.
- Entebbe to Gatwick (UR110): 00:05-07:35 (Tuesdays), 00:25-07:55 (Wednesdays), 03:10-10:40 (Fridays), 09:25-16:55 (Sundays)
- Gatwick to Entebbe (UR111): 09:40-21:10 (Tuesdays), 09:50-21:20 (Wednesdays), 12:40-00:10+1 (Fridays), 19:05-06:35+1 (Sundays)
Image: GCMap
Hang on: why London?
Booking data shows that 78,000 roundtrip passengers flew between London and Entebbe in the 12 months to July 2024 (214 daily). RwandAir carried the most passengers via Kigali, followed by Qatar Airways via Doha and Kenya Airways via Nairobi.
Passengers were mainly diaspora (Uganda was a British colony until 1962) and a growing number of tourists. They tend to be lower-yielding from traveling in economy class.
Photo: Airbus
The nature of the passengers means that Entebbe has a lower average London fare than many other already-served sub-Saharan markets. When combined with the distance, it has lower yields. Hence, nonstop flights have not been available in 10 years.
The UK capital was Entebbe’s fourth-largest point-to-point market globally, behind Dubai (214,000 passengers), Nairobi (122,000), and Sharjah (109,000).
Entebbe was London’s second-largest unserved African market. The first was the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, with 101,000 passengers.
Uganda Airlines will carry passengers between Gatwick and Harare, along with other cities, including Dar es Salaam, Juba, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa, Nairobi, Zanzibar, and more. Such connecting traffic via Entebbe will be significant, especially in the off-season.

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Gatwick’s latest carrier
Uganda Airlines’ announcement of Gatwick service comes in the same year that Kenya Airways will begin flying to the UK’s second-busiest airport to expand its London operation.
It came soon after Gulf Air added Gatwick flights. Another airline, Air Sierra Leone, confirmed it will fly to Gatwick in June using leased 737s, although they are not yet on sale. A source near the carrier tells me that flights are likely to begin.

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Between 2023 and 2025, Gatwick has welcomed (or will welcome) the following carriers. Of course, like any airport, others have pulled out, including Azores Airlines, Bamboo Airways, and Lufthansa.
- 2025: Air Sierra Leone (unconfirmed when writing), Gulf Air, Kenya Airways, Uganda Airlines
- 2024: Air Peace, Atlantic Airways (previously served Gatwick until 2013), flyErbil, Iberia Express (served Gatwick until 2017), ITA Airways, SkyAlps, Uzbekistan Airlines, Turkmenistan Airlines
- 2023: Air China (served Gatwick until 2020), Air India, Air Mauritius, Azerbaijan Airlines (served Gatwick until 2007), China Eastern (served Gatwick until 2020), China Southern, Delta Air Lines (served Gatwick until 2012), Ethiopian Airlines (served Gatwick until 2006), Norse Atlantic, Saudia (whose network even includes a weekly A320 operation), SKY express, UR Airlines, Volotea