Saudi Arabian official airline starts direct flights from Entebbe

By Our Reporter

2^nd Feb 2022

Saudia, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made its inaugural direct flight from Entebbe International Airport to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. 

The Saudi Aircraft with over 250 passengers on board touched down at Entebbe International Airport at 7 am.

It was greeted with the water cannon salute and cutting a cake to mark the arrival of Saudia at Entebbe Airport.

The aircraft left with 300 passengers’ mainly migrant workers, residents and Saudi nationals. Saudia had initially planned to launch its flights to Entebbe in September last year in vain. Entebbe becomes its fourth destination in Africa.

It currently flies to Mauritius, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa. Shafic Senteza, an employee of Saudia, says that the airline will operate two weekly flights. He also says the airline is targeting labour export companies and businesspeople.

Vianney Luggya, the Spokesperson of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority-UCAA, says that Saudia’s entry is a vote of confidence in Uganda’s air transport system. He says over 1.9 million passengers passed through Entebbe airport in 2019 and the traffic reduced to less than one million annually in the last two years due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on global travel.