Meridiana Africa Airlines (Uganda) Limited, trading asAir Uganda,^[2] was a privately owned airline inUganda from 2007 to 2014. It suspended its operations when theUganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) revoked the airline'sair operator's certificate.^[3]

Air Uganda

IATA ICAO Call sign U7 UGA UGANDA
Commenced operations	15 November 2007 (2007-11-15)
Ceased operations	17 July 2014 (2014-07-17)
Operating bases	Entebbe International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Celestars
Parent company	Celestair (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development)
Headquarters	4 Wampewo Avenue Kololo,Kampala,Uganda
Key people	Cornwell Muleya (CEO)[1]

Air Uganda had been widely recognized as thenational carrier since the collapse ofUganda Airlines in May 2001.^[4]

Headquartered inKampala,^[5] with its operations base atEntebbe International Airport, Air Uganda used three aircraft to operate scheduled flights betweenEntebbe and various destinations ineastern andcentral Africa.

Air Uganda was formed in 2007 and began commercial flight operations on 15 November 2007.^[6] It transported over 70,000 passengers within its first twelve months, with an average load factor of 70 percent between Entebbe andJuba, South Sudan. The load factor between Entebbe andNairobi averaged 60 percent during the first year of operation.^[7]

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Air Uganda announced plans to start domestic service during 2012. This required the airline to acquire appropriate aircraft to serve the domestic market.^[4]

In 2012, Air Uganda began self-handling at its hub at Entebbe International Airport and was authorised to handle any other airline that used its handling services. The move saved the airline at least US$700,000 annually.^[8][9]

In November 2013, the airline marked the sixth anniversary of its founding. At that time, it was the only Ugandan airline licensed by the UCAA to operate regularly scheduled flights to neighboring countries.^[10]

In May 2014, Air Uganda became a full member of theAfrican Airlines Association, a trade organization of the industry on the continent.^[11] In the same month, the airline was admitted to theInternational Air Transport Association.^[12]

On 17 July 2014, Air Uganda suspended operations indefinitely after the issuer of its licence, the UCAA, ran into problems. The UCAA had failed a safety audit by theInternational Civil Aviation Organization in June 2014, resulting in the UCAA withdrawing licenses it had issued to air operators.^[13] At the time, Air Uganda said its potential re-certification was weeks away and that lessors had recalled their aircraft, opening a window for other carriers to grow passenger volumes in its area of operations.^{[citation needed]}

Meridiana Africa Airlines (Uganda) Limited was wholly owned by the Celestair Group, which in turn is owned by theAga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). AKFED also controlsAir Burkina andAir Mali, the national airlines ofBurkina Faso andMali, respectively, and has an interest in Europe inMeridiana.^[14]

Because it was a private company, annual reports for Air Uganda were not published. In the absence of these, the little information that became available is shown below:

During the second half of 2008, Air Uganda signed codeshare agreements withAir Tanzania on the Entebbe / Kilimanjaro International Airport, Entebbe / Dar es Salaam, and Entebbe /Zanzibar routes, which both airlines serviced. Code share agreements were also signed withBrussels Airlines on the Entebbe / Juba, South Sudan route serviced by Air Uganda and on the Entebbe /Brussels route serviced byBrussels Airlines. These arrangements were soon followed by similar agreements between Air Uganda andQatar Airways.^[20]

In early 2009, Air Uganda made arrangements withMarsland Aviation for the latter to transport Air Uganda ticketed passengers between Juba andKhartoum and between Khartoum and Juba. Air Uganda traveled this route two days a week. Marsland Aviation carried Air Uganda passengers the remaining five days of the week when Air Uganda did not service the route.^[21]

In June 2010, Air Uganda signed a codeshare agreement with Rwandair on the Entebbe / Kigali route. Air Uganda served the route with a daily morning flight, while Rwandair provided a daily evening flight. Both airlines served the route withCRJ-200 aircraft.^[22] Those arrangements were halted by Air Uganda effective March 2012.^[23]

On 14 August 2013, a new codeshare agreement was entered between Air Uganda and Rwandair on the Entebbe / Kigali route. The agreement became effective immediately.^[24]

In January 2014, Air Uganda signed a codeshare agreement withPrecision Air of Tanzania on the Entebbe / Dar es Salaam and the Entebbe / Kilimanjaro International Airport routes.^[25][26]

As of November 2013, Air Uganda maintained Interline partnerships with the following airlines: Brussels Airlines,Emirates,Kenya Airways, Qatar Airways,Gulf Air, Air Mali, Precision Air, Hahn Air, and RwandAir.^[27]

The Air Uganda fleet consisted of the following aircraft as of April 2014, although in July 2014 they were reported as being returned to the European contractor from which they were leased:^{[28][29][30][31]}

• On 9 January 2010, the United States Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, warned of a possible terrorist threat on Air Uganda planes traveling between Juba, South Sudan, and Entebbe, Uganda. According to the embassy, it had received information that indicated "a desire by regional extremists to conduct a deadly attack on board Air Uganda aircraft." According to the Sudanese foreign ministry, however, the threat was not considered serious. TheUganda People's Defence Force said they had been aware of this information since early December 2009, although a Ugandan government spokesman said there was nothing to support such claims.^[32]

• Airlines of Africa
• List of airlines of Uganda

• Behind Air Uganda grounding As of 25 August 2014.