Uganda Airlines to start direct flights to Rwanda

This was revealed during the conclusion of a two-day 11th Session of the Rwanda-Uganda Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) in Kigali.

The direct flights to Kigali will be the first ever since the Airline was revamped in 2019.

The revelation, according to JPC, has come as a result of continuous discussions between the two parties over time.

Uganda Airlines resumed commercial flights in 2019, targeting mostly regional destinations but efforts for the carrier to secure landing rights in Kigali have been futile, mostly because of a diplomatic rift.

The Airline currently flies to Nairobi, Kinshasa, Juba, Mombasa, Dar es Salam, Mogadishu, Kilimanjaro, Bujumbura, Dubai and the most recently added destination, Johannesburg.

Both countries (Uganda and Rwanda) have in the last more than five years hit a diplomatic low with Rwanda accusing Uganda of not fairly treating Rwandese inhabitants living in the country and harbouring people opposed to the Kigali Government.

In 2021, the ties between the two countries went extremely low after the Rwandese Government closed its border with Uganda.

There have however been efforts by the Ugandan Government to improve relations between the two countries.

Last year, the first son, who was also at the time the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Commander of land Forces, now Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, made efforts to reach out to the Rwandese President, Paul Kagame.

Ties between the two countries has since been improving.