Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has opened investigations into what led to flight cancellations and delays by Uganda Airlines
“We value our customers, the passengers, and they must have been affected by these flight cancellations,” said Eng. Ronny Barongo, UCAA Director of Safety, Security and Economic Regulation, during the UCAA’s Stakeholders’ Engagement Breakfast held at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.
He noted that flight cancellations can be caused by various factors, including congestion, capacity issues, and operational challenges.
UCAA has advised Uganda Airlines to have cooperative arrangements with other airlines, such as code sharing and interlining, to mitigate cancellations.
“If there’s any flight cancellation, passengers can be rescheduled to another operator,” Barongo said.
The UCAA is also investigating specific cases, addressing consumer protection issues, and advising the ministry on measures to resolve the problems.
“We will have a one-on-one meeting with the airline managers and resolve these issues once and for all,” Barongo added.
Background
Uganda Airlines has been in the spotlight after several passengers reported missing their flights in the past few days.
Several intending travellers with Uganda’s national carrier took to social media to express their frustration after they were left stranded without help at Entebbe International Airport departure check-in counters.
In a December 13 statement, the airline reported disruptions of its scheduled flight operations and noted that it was focusing on ensuring the full restoration of its regular service; however, this did little to quell agitated travellers online.
“The tragedy happening at Uganda Airlines is far beyond even my 2019 doomsday predictions. One plane is stuck in Lagos, another in London, passengers stranded, airline rapidly falling apart as top management loot with impunity. Even God cannot save this airline,” businessman Andrew Mwenda posted on his X platform on December 15, 2025.
Mr Mwenda’s post was accompanied by a video showing congested counters with piles of luggage and passengers. In the video, a female voice is heard saying the staff had abandoned their counters after passengers complained about their poor service.
However, researcher and social commentator, Timothy Kalyegira, replied, noting that the Airlines would fail due to the state of affairs in the country.
“Uganda Airlines WILL fail. Why? Same reason you’ve not had power at home for the last 15 hours. If you, Andrew, are this frustrated by the state of things, how about the millions of long-suffering citizens who are not a phone call away from people in high places?” he posted.
For over a week, passengers have been complaining about the carrier’s poor service.
“Uganda Airlines, if you don’t pull up your socks and stop operating an airline line like a taxi, then people will opt for other airlines plying the same routes and forfeit their patriotism. Last week’s Wednesday flight to Zanzibar was cancelled and pushed to Thursday. Yesterday’s (Wednesday) flight from Zanzibar to Entebbe was delayed until midnight, only for passengers to reach the airport and again told the same flight was pushed to today, Thursday,” journalists Sudhir Byaruhanga posted on December 11, 2025.
However, media personality Allan Kasujja urged Ugandans to keep supporting the national carrier.
“Sigh! My heart goes out to the crew many of who are amazing professionals. They take immense pride in their work. I’m sure it’s not too late. We mustn’t allow Uganda Airlines to fail” he said.
When this publication visited Entebbe Airport on Monday, December 15, 2025, operations went on normally with intending travellers and returnees moving along their businesses with slightly heightened security deployment at the departures section.
However, one thing amiss was the blank Departure Flight Schedule screens in the departure lounge meant to guide intending travellers on their airlines flight time.
According to a traveller using another airline who preferred anonymity, the screens were switched off at around 11 am after bustling movements and meetings of top UCAA and other aviation officials, but no reason was given to the passengers.
However, this publication couldn’t independently verify this assertion.
A source in the Airline who preferred to remain anonymous told this reporter that on Sunday night, the Uganda Airlines A330-800neo plane had been over booked and couldn’t transport all the passengers at the time.
“Some of the passengers were complaining that they had booked two months before, others online but they were all here. The plane took those it could and the rest stayed. The included businesspeople who had perishables and many disgruntled travellers. They are the ones who recorded the videos,” the source said.
When contacted, Uganda Airlines spokesperson Ms Shakila Rahim Lamar, admitted that the airline has been having regrettable technical problems with one of its aircrafts which has led to the delays and disruptions in the flight operations, which it is remedying.
She, however, dismissed reports that the Dubai-bound Airbus was overbooked for Sunday’s flight.
“On Sunday, passengers had booked the Airbus to Dubai, but it developed a technical problem, and we downgraded from the Airbus to a smaller one, then we had to do a first-come, first-served basis,” she said.
She added, “Some of them who had emergencies or can’t wait, we rebooked them onto another flight; those who could wait, we are planning for them, we have an office at the airport where they all went, and they were talked to,” she said.
Ms Shakila said all their aircrafts are operational; however, their operations are hindered by unplanned technical issues, which she declined to divulge further.
“There are seven, but we have technical issues. So, you find that one is out, two are out because of technical issues. That’s why the disruptions are there…..When I say we have a technical issue, it means the aircraft. Because of safety, it has to be put away to be able to be examined and then fixed, and then it’s back on the line,” she said.
According to her, the airline has been lodging passengers who can wait in a hotel and those unable to are rebooked on other airlines as per the International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations.
“The major problem is that we don’t have a fleet. When one is down, it causes a ripple effect around the next one. That’s the problem, and right now, we have so many people travelling, coming home,” she added.
Ms Shakila said the airline, which operates 25 flights per day, will rely on the leased aircraft to support and relieve the airline on the technical problem issue.
About the departures schedule screens being off, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Manager Public Affairs, Mr Vianney Luggya, said the screen blackout was a result of a power fluctuation.
“It was just a power fluctuation; it has nothing to do with anything else and has since been rectified,” he said.