MICHAEL WAKABI / KAMPALA
New Ugandan carrier Africa One expects to start flights to Lagos by the end of November, following the signing of a new bilateral air services agreement between Uganda and Nigeria on 9 October.
Africa One launched long-haul services on 29 April using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 from Entebbe, and had planned to link Lagos to Dubai via its Ugandan hub. However, it was stopped from flying the trans-African sector because the Nigerian government wanted amendments to the earlier bilateral which was signed in the mid-1990s when the country was under its military regime.
According to Africa One chairman Joe Roy, the absence of route rights between Entebbe and Lagos had cost the carrier $4 million in losses arising from having to operate empty ferry flights for two months with the DC-10 between Freetown in Sierra Leone and Entebbe.
The airline's fortunes improved in July when it launched short-haul services in East Africa following the delivery of its first McDonnell Douglas DC-9. A second DC-9 was delivered earlier this month, which will allow further expansion, and Roy has recently visited Kinshasa to negotiate the launch of services to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: Flight International
