British Airways’ last flight out of Uganda

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On Saturday October 3, British Airways made its last flight out of Uganda ending the 24-year old journey at Entebbe International Airport. Mark Keith Muhumuza & Jonathan Adengo followed up the events leading to the airline’s last moments out of Uganda.

At exactly 1am on Saturday October 3, a light drizzle flushed through Entebbe dusting layers of grime that had settled on the town earlier in the day.
It was a symbolic night as Uganda yet again said farewell to a second airline in a space of just one year.
The drizzle had come in time for employees of Entebbe Handling Services (ENHAS) and others to capture the final moments through their phone cameras, before British Airways (BA) hit the runway.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, at the British Airways offices in Kampala, Faith Chaitezvi, the airline country manager, who declined our request for an interview, together with another gentleman were the lone figures on the premises that once housed more than 30 staff.
In a short conversation Chaitezvi told this newspaper they would remain open until October 20 as key staff wind up with unfinished business.

First forward by 11pm passengers were starting to stream through the Entebbe International Airport scanners to board what could be British Airways’ - at least for now - last flight in and out of Uganda.
After 24 years of operation, in June British Airways finally pulled the plug on its flights to Uganda noting the route was no longer ‘commercially viable’.
Amid the drizzle, the Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft belt through the traditional water cannon splash saluting its contribution to Uganda’s aviation sector.
It was a quiet night but noticeably most people at the airport seemed to understand this was British Airways’ last flight.
Many stretched through the glass windows to catch sight of the 211seater aircraft, which would later hit the skies at exactly 1:20am.

Some did not know what to make of it but to others it was a disappointment that the airline’s 24-year journey had come to an end.
With the Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft taxing away and eventually disappearing into the deep night, it was back to business as airport staff prepared other aircrafts for take-off.
But in there lies a bigger problem, which Benedict Mutyaba, the former Uganda Airlines managing director says “does not portend well for the industry and could be bad for the people marketing Uganda”.
“For an airline of BA’s standard to exit the market after 24 years is not something small. Already there are losers who have been with the airline for a very long time,” he said.

Earlier in June British Airways had announced it would halt flights between Entebbe and Heathrow but never divulged into details as to why it was quitting Uganda despite noticeable increase in passenger numbers.
As of 2013 Entebbe International Airport had posted good numbers, growing by 8.3 per cent to 1.4 million passengers but growth on the Entebbe – Heathrow route had largely stayed flat.
In the last three years the airline had averaged at 70,000 passengers and had at a certain point in 2004 registered the highest passenger traffic to and out of Entebbe International Airport compared to any destination out of Africa.
But around the same time Middle East carriers had came into the mix and have since seemed to scratch British Airways the wrong way.

Passenger numbers for Middle East carriers has been growing, rising from 25,500 in 2003 to more than 200,000 by 2013.
British Airways’ exit could be surgical; at least according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials who preferred anonymity.
Fees generated from landing, lighting, parking and navigation will nolonger flow into CAA’s coffers with ENHAS and inflight service provider losing a client who has walked with them since 1991.
Interestingly the exit comes when finally the expansion of the airport is taking shape.

The Shs732b ($200m) project was commissioned in August and will begin with construction of a new cargo terminal.
On completion of the cargo centre complex, CAA says old cargo facilities will immediately be pulled down to pave way for the construction and extension of the passenger terminal.
With the expansion, the hope is to attract more passengers and airlines but the exit of major airlines would present challenges.
At Entebbe International Airport, British Airways reservation offices stayed closed - with no activity.

21 years of flying with British Airways
A isha Najjuma, a resident of Namasuba, Wakiso District, also holds British citizenship. She has an attachment to British Airways which is deep, spanning more than 21 years.
She is a perfect definition of a loyal client who has since 1994 never cheated on British Airways. She has for more than 60 times flown using the airline every time she has travelled to Uganda or to the United Kingdom.

“It is the only airline I have used when going to UK or coming to Uganda,’ she says. We sought out Najjuma, a frequent flyer with the airline to understand the impact of British Airways’ exit out of Uganda. But true to herself, Najjuma will definitely miss the airline, which she would “fly direct every time I use British Airways”. “Unlike other airlines which have to take me through the Middle East, on BA I would only need eight hours to reach my destination,” she says before highlighting how secure she has been feeling every time she has flown British Airways.
“For the time I have flown on that airline I have never lost anything. The airline I would say has been one of the best because they, apart from human life, ensure safety of everything on board,” Najjuma says.

Najjuma, who says will be travelling to UK next month was shocked when she first heard of the exit but the decision later sunk in “because British Airways is a business that has to make wise choices”.
“I am going to the UK next month but am now looking at which airline to use. I need one which will give me the comfort I have been enjoying with British Airways,” she says.
Perhaps it is such trimmings that Najjuma will miss but Uganda is not short of alternatives and perhaps she could sooner or later find a fitting airline.
Additional reporting by Paul Tajuba