Uganda Airlines is the plane with a crane on its tail, hence its callsign “Crested“. It operates from its company headquarters at Entebbe International Airport (ICAO: HUEN, IATA: EBB), right on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is a very colourful company as evidenced by its livery, which mirrors the colours of the national flag of Uganda. But it has existed twice in history.
Let’s have a look.
Uganda Airlines started operations in 1977, after being founded in May of 1976. Service began using a Boeing 707-320C, and by 1994, the airline had in its fleet the Boeing 737, DHC-6 Twin Otter, Britten-Norman Trislander, Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules, Fokker F27-600 and the Boeing 707.
During the years of its first chapter, despite the fact that it was a Government owned parastatal, Uganda Airlines struggled to grow, mainly due to mismanagement and embezzlement. This forced the Government of Uganda to seek to privatise the company in an effort to save face. However, all potential investors either lost interest or dropped their bids, forcing the company liquidation in May of 2001.
Then, on the 28th of August, 2019, a new revitalised Uganda Airlines took off from Entebbe for its inaugural flight to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on a Bombardier CRJ-900, tail number 5X-KOB. The arrival of the callsign “Crested” back to the Kenyan air traffic communications necessitated a warm reception and cheerful celebrations in Nairobi, so much so that Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the East African Community & Regional Development Adan Mohammed had this to say to the Ugandan nationals on board – “Welcome home!”
Today the fleet is in a steady growth trajectory, consisting of the Bombardier CRJ-900, the Boeing 737-800, and the Airbus A330-800. Though the new airline, legally called Uganda National Airlines Company (or UR in short) is still plagued by losses, much like its regional competitors KQ and TC, it has been able to secure slots at several destinations across Africa, Asia, and the United Kingdom, with plans to venture into the United States in the offing.
