As part of its expansion programme, South African Airways (SAA) announced an increase in its flights to Uganda this weekend. Yogi Biriggwa, SAA country manager for Uganda and Rwanda, said the decision was taken due to rising demand from both South Africa and Uganda. This development also formed part of SAA’s overall strategy of focusing on its operations in Africa, including the East African region, which is a key growth area. Routes in Africa contribute about 16 per cent towards the company revenue and over the last year, SAA’s flights to Africa have averaged approximately 70 per cent in terms of load factors. Entebbe is one of eleven of SAA’s 19 destinations on the continent, to which the airline has added capacity. Flights will depart daily from Entebbe at 06h15 and arrive Johannesburg at 10h30, allowing connecting passengers enough time to meet their flights. Return flights will depart Johannesburg at 14h00 and arrive Entebbe at 18h10. “We hope our investment in this country will further encourage travel between our country and Uganda, as well as provide an additional boost to Uganda’s tourism sector as more travelers from South Africa and other international destinations will be able to take advantage of this route.” SAA started flying into Uganda in 2000 with only three flights a week, which were increased to four in May 2007, to five in February 2008 and finally to daily flights, effective 1 March 2008. Panapress
