Business
With fewer hours in the air, Uganda Airlines' Entebbe-Accra route brings more deals on the ground
Uganda Airlines' new Entebbe-Accra service is seen as an instrument of economic policy, a platform for regional integration and a potential catalyst for wealth creation.
Uganda's works and transport minister Fred Byamukama (7th-L) and his Ghanaian counterpart Joseph Bukari Nikpe and other officials cut a cake during a reception ceremony of the inaugural Entebbe-Accra direct flight at Accra International Airport in Ghana's capital Accra on October 27, 2026. (Courtesy photo)
By: Joseph Kizza, Journalist @New Vision
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AVIATION ✈️
When the doors of Flight UR900 opened at Accra International Airport on a scorching early afternoon of October 27, 2026, it signaled the onset of a new chapter in not only Uganda Airlines' expansion journey, but also in Uganda's economic growth at large.
Led by works and transport minister Fred Byamukama, the sizeable Ugandan delegation representing various industry players that stepped off this inaugural flight under glorious sunshine in Ghana's capital Accra lent credence to this dream-come-true.
The formalities at the reception of this maiden Entebbe-Accra flight, five hours after it had departed from Entebbe, and the subsequent discussions during the Ghana-Uganda Trade and Business Forum the following day, offered a glimpse of the various opportunities on offer.
From connecting markets to bringing entrepreneurs closer to customers, investors nearer to viable projects and tourists closer to new experiences, the new Entebbe-Accra route is seen as more than merely a transport service.
"It is an instrument of economic policy, a platform for regional integration and a potential catalyst for wealth creation," said planning state minister Amos Lugoloobi (pictured below) at the forum in Accra.
Stakeholders are now racing to ensure that this new connection's economic value extends beyond the aviation sector.
Flying four times a week between Entebbe and Accra via Lagos (Nigeria) for a start means immediate dividends for Uganda and Ghana and their people.
With one nestled in the heart of East Africa and the other sitting on the Gulf of Guinea, both countries are well positioned in their respective regions to serve complementary gateways between East and West Africa.
Previously, there was precious little going on between the two vital markets, in part due to the inconvenience of having to use connecting flights from Uganda to Ghana.
Typically, the absence of a direct air route has implications across related sectors.
"Business cannot easily establish partnerships when meetings are difficult to arrange. Investors may postpone decisions when access to markets is uncertain. Tourists may choose destinations that are easy to reach," said Lugoloobi.
Additionally, perishable products can lose value when transportation takes too long or involves excessive handling.
'Connectivity to prosperity'
Minister Lugoloobi said the new Uganda Airlines service linking Entebbe to Accra must, therefore, be regarded as the start of a broader economic undertaking.
To succeed commercially, the route will have to get a couple of things right: reliable schedules, convenient onward connections, competitive fares and consistent quality of service.
Success will be measured by the number of flights and businesses established, the value of goods traded, the investments mobilized, imports and exports arising from those investments, the tourists welcomed and the jobs ultimately created, among other measures.
"Our ambition must be to turn connectivity into competitiveness, competitiveness into production and production into prosperity for our people," said Lugoloobi.
Trade
Considering that Uganda and Ghana are members of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), trade is seen as one of the immediate areas in which the new Entebbe-Accra air service can deliver on benefits.
Headquartered in Accra, the 55-member-strong AfCFTA is designed to expand intra-African trade, build regional value chains and strengthen the position of African producers in global markets.
For Uganda, several export categories present opportunities for engagement with Ghanaian importers and distributors.
Coffee and other premium agricultural products make the list. The world loves the Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties that Uganda grows.
The East African nation exported 8.26 million 60-kilogramme bags worth $1.88b in 2023/24. In the following financial year, coffee exports reached a record 8.26 million bags worth $2.3b, making Uganda Africa's top coffee exporter at the time.
"We should explore arrangements that bring Uganda's coffee producers together with Ghanaian processors, retailers and consumers while encouraging investment in value addition in both countries," said Lugoloobi in Accra.
Commercial relationship
Opportunity also lies in tea, sugar, medical oils, fruit products, fish and other high-value perishable products, as well as manufactured and industrial products.
Uganda's export basket already includes products such as steel and iron products, cement, plastics, soaps, and sugar products. Also on offer are pharmaceuticals, professional services and digital solutions.
"Businesses in information, financial, health technologies, as well as education and professional services can use a good connectivity to establish partnerships, serve clients and exchange expertise," said the planning state minister.
The goal, though, is not to increase movement of goods in one direction. It should be to establish a mutually beneficial commercial relationship.
A relationship that looks at Ghanaian products and capabilities that could serve the Ugandan market, including processed foods, cocoa-based products and selected manufactures, business services, creative products and technologies.
The normal scenario of 'I am comfortable in trading in Uganda', 'I am comfortable in producing goods and services for Uganda' has to stop, according to Irene Birungi Mugisha (pictured below), the chief executive officer of the Presidential CEO Forum, a platform that acts as a direct communication channel between the private sector and the government.
"We need to tap into the leverage of this intra-Africa trade. That is the only way Africa is going to be bold and be able to compete competitively," said Mugisha, who was one of the panelists at the Ghana-Uganda business forum in Accra.
"It means we need to add value to all manufactured products, we need to package better, we have to take leverage in the tourism industry and also take more interest in the culture."
Private sector stakeholders like her see extended benefits of the new Entebbe-Accra route.
"For us, it is to be able to see that we now open up different routes that will allow our own private sector to trade, to have ease of cost of doing business come down, to be able to have opportunities of profiling their products better but also to learn what are the other products that they can be able to diversify in," said Mugisha.
WATCH MORE FROM MUGISHA 👇🏽
Cargo and efficiency
But not every product can be transported profitably by air.
The air cargo opportunity depends on aircraft capacity, handling arrangement, freight rates, demand and availability of return cargo.
With this in mind, the aviation stakeholders in Uganda and Ghana have been tasked with working together to identify co-related commodities and potential customers.
Part of their homework is to examine the feasibility of regular cargo arrangements, consolidate shipments where appropriate, improve cold chain handling and connect exporters to verified buyers.
The aim is to reduce avoidable delays and ensure that goods move efficiently from the producer to the customer.
"A successful route should carry not only passengers travelling for business but also ideas; we should also carry samples, contracts and commercial relationships that lead to larger volumes of trade," said Lugoloobi.
Tourism and visibility
Tourism is another major opportunity for Uganda and Ghana, both of which are endowed with distinctive tourism assets, rich history and diverse cultural traditions.
The sector is one of the drivers of Uganda's Ten-fold Growth Strategy that is at the heart of the country's ambitious target to realise an annual $500b economy by the year 2040.
The Entebbe-Accra air route presents another means of bringing the Pearl of Africa and the Gold Coast closer to potential visitors and making their tourism products more visible to one another's markets.
Ron Kazooba Kawamara (speaking in the video below), the CEO of Hugamara Group and Vice-Chairperson of Uganda Tourism Board, praised Uganda Airlines for boldly opening up routes that connect people, trade and tourism.
"We are very excited as people who invest in tourism and who are practitioners and leaders in the tourism space. For the first time we are connecting the 50 million Ugandans with the 35 million Ghanaians," said Kawamara in Accra.
"The flight only takes four-and-a-half hours. It is a big milestone for businesspeople and for our economies. It is connecting the east and the west.
"We are excited that on this journey we came with many tour operators and business leaders who are already engaging with their counterparts in Ghana to make sure that this route is not just a route, but an opportunity to make money, to create jobs, to have real business. Our hope is to see the number of passengers and cargo go up," added the entrepreneur.
Opportunity also lies in tea, sugar, medical oils, fruit products, fish and other high-value perishable products, as well as manufactured and industrial products.
Uganda's export basket already includes products such as steel and iron products, cement, plastics, soaps, and sugar products. Also on offer are pharmaceuticals, professional services and digital solutions.
"Businesses in information, financial, health technologies, as well as education and professional services can use a good connectivity to establish partnerships, serve clients and exchange expertise," said the planning state minister.
The goal, though, is not to increase movement of goods in one direction. It should be to establish a mutually beneficial commercial relationship.
A relationship that looks at Ghanaian products and capabilities that could serve the Ugandan market, including processed foods, cocoa-based products and selected manufactures, business services, creative products and technologies.
The normal scenario of 'I am comfortable in trading in Uganda', 'I am comfortable in producing goods and services for Uganda' has to stop, according to Irene Birungi Mugisha (pictured below), the chief executive officer of the Presidential CEO Forum, a platform that acts as a direct communication channel between the private sector and the government.
"We need to tap into the leverage of this intra-Africa trade. That is the only way Africa is going to be bold and be able to compete competitively," said Mugisha, who was one of the panelists at the Ghana-Uganda business forum in Accra.
"It means we need to add value to all manufactured products, we need to package better, we have to take leverage in the tourism industry and also take more interest in the culture."
Private sector stakeholders like her see extended benefits of the new Entebbe-Accra route.
"For us, it is to be able to see that we now open up different routes that will allow our own private sector to trade, to have ease of cost of doing business come down, to be able to have opportunities of profiling their products better but also to learn what are the other products that they can be able to diversify in," said Mugisha.
WATCH MORE FROM MUGISHA 👇🏽
Cargo and efficiency
But not every product can be transported profitably by air.
The air cargo opportunity depends on aircraft capacity, handling arrangement, freight rates, demand and availability of return cargo.
With this in mind, the aviation stakeholders in Uganda and Ghana have been tasked with working together to identify co-related commodities and potential customers.
Part of their homework is to examine the feasibility of regular cargo arrangements, consolidate shipments where appropriate, improve cold chain handling and connect exporters to verified buyers.
The aim is to reduce avoidable delays and ensure that goods move efficiently from the producer to the customer.
"A successful route should carry not only passengers travelling for business but also ideas; we should also carry samples, contracts and commercial relationships that lead to larger volumes of trade," said Lugoloobi.
Tourism and visibility
Tourism is another major opportunity for Uganda and Ghana, both of which are endowed with distinctive tourism assets, rich history and diverse cultural traditions.
The sector is one of the drivers of Uganda's Ten-fold Growth Strategy that is at the heart of the country's ambitious target to realise an annual $500b economy by the year 2040.
The Entebbe-Accra air route presents another means of bringing the Pearl of Africa and the Gold Coast closer to potential visitors and making their tourism products more visible to one another's markets.
Ron Kazooba Kawamara (speaking in the video below), the CEO of Hugamara Group and Vice-Chairperson of Uganda Tourism Board, praised Uganda Airlines for boldly opening up routes that connect people, trade and tourism.
"We are very excited as people who invest in tourism and who are practitioners and leaders in the tourism space. For the first time we are connecting the 50 million Ugandans with the 35 million Ghanaians," said Kawamara in Accra.
"The flight only takes four-and-a-half hours. It is a big milestone for businesspeople and for our economies. It is connecting the east and the west.
"We are excited that on this journey we came with many tour operators and business leaders who are already engaging with their counterparts in Ghana to make sure that this route is not just a route, but an opportunity to make money, to create jobs, to have real business. Our hope is to see the number of passengers and cargo go up," added the entrepreneur.
"On the Uganda Tourism Board side, we have been engaging our colleagues here in the Ghana Tourism Authority and Ghana Wildlife Authority to make sure that we can collaborate, learn from the things they do good here and they can learn from what we do well in Uganda."
On October 28, Kawamara led a delegation of Ugandan tourism stakeholders at a high-level meeting with their Ghanaian counterparts, led by Ben Anane Nsiah, at the Ghana Tourism Authority head office in Accra.
The two teams set out to collaborate and build and sell their respective country's products as part of a sustainable framework anchored on mutual commercial benefits.
AFCON opportunity
Uganda offers a remarkable combination of natural beauty, wildlife, adventure and cultural heritage.
Visitors can experience mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison national parks and the spectacular mountains of the Rwenzori with its glaciers as well as the Source of River Nile in Jinja.
Uganda also offers bird watching, sport fishing, white water adventures, cultural experiences, and an opportunity to engage with local communities.
There are also opportunities in conference tourism, religious tourism, educational visits, sports, cultural festivals and business travel.
Uganda Tourism Board is partnering with Africa's football governing body CAF as an official competition sponsor of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which Uganda will co-host with East African neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.
It is a partnership that presents an opportunity to exhibit Uganda's rich tourism offerings and dynamic cultures.
Uganda's invitation to visitors who will be coming for the tournament is to "explore Uganda beyond the game and stay for the discovery".
"We have already been engaging Ghana's football federation and fan groups to make sure that when the Africa Cup of Nations happens next year, the Ghanaians come and be based in Uganda," said Kawamara.
"We are engaging the football federation in Ghana to make sure that the training camp is in Uganda.
"We have made good important progress. We are working on a memorandum of understanding with the tourism and football agencies of Ghana to make sure that we leverage this [Entebbe-Accra] route and our hosting of AFCON."
Frequency of flights
Tourism has a multiplier effect.
When visitors spend money in accommodation, restaurants, transport, guided tours, entertainment and other services, those expenditures support businesses, create employment and generate income for households.
But it is not automatic.
"We must offer competitive prices, high quality service, reliable transport connections, safety, clean environments and professional hospitality," said minister Lugoloobi.
The responsibility remains to give potential visitors of destinations Uganda and Ghana compelling reason to travel.
Ghana granted Uganda Airlines fifth freedom traffic rights. This means the national carrier can now fly passengers and cargo between Accra and Lagos on its Entebbe-Accra service.
It will help fill seats on Uganda Airlines flights, generating much-needed extra revenue for the airline on intermediate stops.
The plan is to turn the Entebbe-Accra route from a four-times-a-week to a daily service in a year-and-a-half's time, according to Uganda Airlines CEO Girma Wake (pictured below).
"By then, we should be able to separate Lagos from Accra. Each one will support itself. Gradually, we will make it daily. That way, we will give more convenience to our passengers," said the veteran Ethiopian business executive.
"Frequency is very important for an airline's sustainability."
With the national carrier set to launch daily direct flights from Entebbe to Rwanda's capital Kigali later this month on November 18, more opportunities abound in the areas of trade, tourism, investment and culture.
On October 28, Kawamara led a delegation of Ugandan tourism stakeholders at a high-level meeting with their Ghanaian counterparts, led by Ben Anane Nsiah, at the Ghana Tourism Authority head office in Accra.
The two teams set out to collaborate and build and sell their respective country's products as part of a sustainable framework anchored on mutual commercial benefits.
AFCON opportunity
Uganda offers a remarkable combination of natural beauty, wildlife, adventure and cultural heritage.
Visitors can experience mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison national parks and the spectacular mountains of the Rwenzori with its glaciers as well as the Source of River Nile in Jinja.
Uganda also offers bird watching, sport fishing, white water adventures, cultural experiences, and an opportunity to engage with local communities.
There are also opportunities in conference tourism, religious tourism, educational visits, sports, cultural festivals and business travel.
Uganda Tourism Board is partnering with Africa's football governing body CAF as an official competition sponsor of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which Uganda will co-host with East African neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.
It is a partnership that presents an opportunity to exhibit Uganda's rich tourism offerings and dynamic cultures.
Uganda's invitation to visitors who will be coming for the tournament is to "explore Uganda beyond the game and stay for the discovery".
"We have already been engaging Ghana's football federation and fan groups to make sure that when the Africa Cup of Nations happens next year, the Ghanaians come and be based in Uganda," said Kawamara.
"We are engaging the football federation in Ghana to make sure that the training camp is in Uganda.
"We have made good important progress. We are working on a memorandum of understanding with the tourism and football agencies of Ghana to make sure that we leverage this [Entebbe-Accra] route and our hosting of AFCON."
Frequency of flights
Tourism has a multiplier effect.
When visitors spend money in accommodation, restaurants, transport, guided tours, entertainment and other services, those expenditures support businesses, create employment and generate income for households.
But it is not automatic.
"We must offer competitive prices, high quality service, reliable transport connections, safety, clean environments and professional hospitality," said minister Lugoloobi.
The responsibility remains to give potential visitors of destinations Uganda and Ghana compelling reason to travel.
Ghana granted Uganda Airlines fifth freedom traffic rights. This means the national carrier can now fly passengers and cargo between Accra and Lagos on its Entebbe-Accra service.
It will help fill seats on Uganda Airlines flights, generating much-needed extra revenue for the airline on intermediate stops.
The plan is to turn the Entebbe-Accra route from a four-times-a-week to a daily service in a year-and-a-half's time, according to Uganda Airlines CEO Girma Wake (pictured below).
"By then, we should be able to separate Lagos from Accra. Each one will support itself. Gradually, we will make it daily. That way, we will give more convenience to our passengers," said the veteran Ethiopian business executive.
"Frequency is very important for an airline's sustainability."
With the national carrier set to launch daily direct flights from Entebbe to Rwanda's capital Kigali later this month on November 18, more opportunities abound in the areas of trade, tourism, investment and culture.