Uganda Airlines CEO Bamuturaki regrets December flight disruptions

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Uganda Airlines’ chief executive officer (CEO) Jennifer Bamuturaki has offered a measured apology to clients of the national carrier, acknowledging that last month posed operational challenges, but corrective measures have since been taken.

“We regret these delays of December [2025]. December was a terrible time for us at the airline and also for the country,” she stated.

She made these remarks on January 21, 2026, during an engagement on the 2026/27 Financial Year (FY) Budget Framework Paper with the House committee on Physical Infrastructure, which at the time was under the stewardship of Bugabula South Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Kibalya.

The latter stood in for the substantive chairperson, Dan Kimosho (Kazo County, NRM).

Addressing lawmakers, Bamuturaki, who last month came under intense scrutiny after dozens of travellers were reportedly stranded at Dubai International Airport for three days, attributed the disruption to mechanical challenges.

“We had one Airbus grounded in Lagos, and we had one aircraft, a CRJ, grounded in Entebbe. I am pleased to announce that the aircraft that was in Lagos returned and is back in service. It had a unique technical [challenge], and that was a challenge for us at the airline and even for the OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) ….Because it is not a part that you keep in a store,” Bamuturaki said.

Adding that “The aircraft that is grounded in Entebbe is waiting for an engine which is in the workshop and this engine should be returning to Uganda in the mid of February (2026).”

Circumstances, Bamuturaki said, forced them to reschedule, disrupting time and passengers. However, she said the airline was able to notify passengers who had provided their email addresses or telephone contacts about the situation.

“In fact, we had passengers, who would get as many as three messages in a day because the changes were happening based on how the aircraft were returning to Entebbe if they are delayed at another airport. The other challenge that we had with communication was that some of the passengers had not given their contacts, some had booked through agents and were not informed,” Bamuturaki said.

“There were a few people who would come, and because the flight has been delayed longer than the normal time, we would accommodate them as we wait for their next flight,” she disclosed.

Going forward, she told MPs that they worked that out with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and as we speak, the national carrier has been allocated space for an information table which they intend to use for customer care purposes.

Her comments followed concerns that had earlier been raised by Kibalya regarding the fortunes of the airline.

“The other time, Madam ED remember we were in a given room and I was happy that we had improved on our delays. That we had moved ahead of the rest of our colleagues in the region. But of recent again, we have gone back. We are in a world where we move two steps forward and move three behind,” Kibalya warned.

“The delays are now a menace; we need to address it. Otherwise, it is killing the industry that we are trying to bring up,” he stressed.