AIRCRAFT ALONE DO NOT BUILD A GREAT AIRLINE. GREAT AIRLINES ARE BUILT BY PEOPLE
By Ato Girma Wake, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Airlines
It is a great honour to write this foreword at a defining moment in the journey of Uganda Airlines. Since my appointment as Acting Chief Executive Officer, I have approached this responsibility with deep humility, a clear sense of urgency, and an unshakable belief in the potential of this national carrier. What I have found is an airline with strong foundations, a proud national identity, and a dedicated team determined to build something lasting for Uganda and for Africa.
My journey so far has been one of listening, learning, and acting. In every engagement across the airline, one message has come through clearly: Uganda Airlines has enormous promise, but promise must now be matched with discipline, consistency, and strategic execution. That is why my immediate focus has been on stabilising operations, restoring confidence and building a culture where reliability, safety, efficiency and service excellence guide every decision we make.
Stabilisation is the first requirement for sustainable growth. In the short-to-medium term, our priority is to strengthen schedule integrity, improve aircraft availability, sharpen cost control, and ensure that every route we operate contributes meaningfully to our long-term vision. We are working to create a more resilient operating model, one that can withstand disruption, respond quickly to market realities, and serve our passengers with greater consistency.
At the same time, our ambition goes beyond day-to-day recovery. We are shaping the mid-term and long-term future of Uganda Airlines around a broader aviation ecosystem. This includes investment in the capabilities that make an airline truly self-sustaining: stronger cargo operations, improved passenger facilities, and the development of our new home through upgraded headquarters and support infrastructure, enabling our people to work, plan and execute at a higher level.
We are also pursuing in-house maintenance capability through a dedicated hangar strategy, because the ability to reduce dependence on external providers is central to reliability, turnaround time and cost efficiency.
This vision is especially important in a world where aviation is increasingly affected by forces beyond any airline’s control. Recent airspace closures and instability in the Middle East, coupled with events such as the Ebola outbreak, have reminded the industry how vulnerable global operations can be to geopolitical events and health crises. Such disruptions bring longer flight times, higher fuel burn, tighter capacity and rising operating costs. Fuel price volatility, in particular, has become one of the clearest reminders that airlines must build strong internal systems and make bold but prudent long-range choices.
Fleet Expansion and Strategic Vision
One of the most significant expressions of that long-term confidence is our fleet expansion. The airline plans to expand its fleet to 10 new aircraft, covering both passenger and cargo capacity. This move signals our intention to support trade, tourism, investment and connectivity while positioning Uganda more firmly as a regional aviation hub.
However, aircraft alone do not build a great airline. Great airlines are built by people — by the professionalism of the crew, the precision of engineers, the commitment of commercial teams, the discipline of operations, and the trust of passengers.
Uganda Airlines must stand for more than transportation. It must stand for national confidence, African connectivity, and the hospitality for which Uganda is known. As we move forward, we do so with realism about the challenges ahead, but also with optimism rooted in action. We are stabilising the present, investing in the future, and building an airline designed not only to fly farther, but to endure.
I thank our passengers, partners, employees and all stakeholders for their continued confidence. The journey ahead is demanding, but it is full of possibilities. Together, we are writing the next chapter of Uganda Airlines with steadiness in the near term, strength in the medium term, and a bold horizon in the long term.
…………..
Thia Article by Ato Girma Wake, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Airlines first appeared in the airline’s inflight publication.
The post Uganda Airlines Acting CEO Girma Wake Calls for Stabilisation Before Growth appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.