The national carrier of Uganda which is known as Uganda Airlines today commenced direct flight services from its base at the Entebbe International Airport to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos from today.
Travellers will be able to fly nonstop between Nigeria and Uganda for the first time whenever direct operations between the two nations begin.
Also, the direct flight would eliminate connecting flights and man-hour loss occasioned due to the long flying hours.
Africa Today News, New York understands that it takes between nine to 12 hours to connect Entebbe from Nigeria, but with the commencement of the non-stop flight, such would be reduced to just four hours.
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Speaking with Daily Independent yesterday, Mr. Adedayo Olawuyi, Chief Commercial Officer (COO), Uganda Airlines, said that the rebranded airline chose Nigeria in a bid to further connect travellers from the country to other destinations around the world, especially to its other 12 destinations.
He went on to add that Nigeria being the biggest economy on the continent needed an airline like Uganda Airlines for further easy exploration and seamless connectivity of passengers.
Olawuyi explained that the East African carrier with six aircraft in its fleet, comprising four Airbus A330-800 and two CRJ 900, intended to usher in a great new experience of convenience and affordable travel for Nigerian travellers.
According to him, for a start, the airline would operate three weekly frequencies from its base in Entebbe; Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays to Nigeria, while the outward flight would be the same day.
He explained that the airline would deploy its brand new Airbus 330-800 aircraft with the total capacity of 258 seats into the Nigerian route.
The configuration of the aircraft indicates; 20 business class seats, 28 seats in premium class and another 210 in the economy class, totaling 258 capacity.