Uganda Airlines could break even by 2030 if the government provides the support needed to strengthen the national carrier, its new chief executive officer (CEO), Girma Wake, has said.Wake, the former chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, said the turnaround strategy will focus on building the airline’s technical and human-resource capacity, expanding cargo operations, investing in catering and aircraft maintenance, increasing domestic and regional connectivity, and positioning Entebbe as a gateway between Africa and international markets.“An airline should be able to stand on its own. It cannot continue to beg money from government. Yes, for development, until you become strong, you need the money. But there must be an end to that. Because otherwise you build this mentality that the government would pay for everything. Don’t worry. Whether you work or not, it doesn’t make any difference. We don’t want that to happen,” Wake said.Uganda Airlines has continued to operate at a loss despite rising revenues and route expansion. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee reported in September 2025 that the airline posted a net loss of Shs 237.9 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, although passenger revenue increased by 58 per cent, cargo revenue by 55 per cent and excess baggage revenue by 63 per cent.Last month, the airline announced its first direct Boeing order, comprising four 737-8 aircraft and four 787-9 Dreamliners, with deliveries scheduled for 2032 and 2033 respectively. The new aircraft are expected to modernise the fleet and support expansion into regional and international markets.Fleet recoverySpeaking on Capital Gang on Saturday, Wake said aircraft acquisition is only one part of the turnaround strategy. When he took over in February, he found an airline with six aircraft, three of which were grounded because of engine and maintenance problems. Although the grounded aircraft represented half of the fleet, they accounted for nearly 85 per cent of the airline’s capacity, leaving the carrier operating at about 15 per cent of its potential capacity.The airline has since returned one of its A330s to service after transferring an engine from the other aircraft. Wake said the grounded CRJ900 is also expected to return once its engine, currently being maintained in the United States, is reinstalled.The second A330 could remain grounded until January or February 2027 because its engines are being sent to Singapore for repairs. In the meantime, Uganda Airlines is using a wet-leased aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines to maintain its schedule.Wake wants the airline to gradually reduce its reliance on wet leases and eventually operate aircraft under dry leases, where Uganda Airlines would provide its own crew, maintenance and insurance.He said wet leasing is expensive because the airline pays for services provided by the lessor, while dry leasing would be cheaper in the long term but would require the carrier to first develop the technical and regulatory capacity to operate the aircraft independently.Regional hubWake said Uganda Airlines will initially prioritise regional expansion rather than immediately adding more long-haul destinations.He said operating large aircraft on long routes without sufficient passenger volumes would deepen losses, while smaller aircraft can be used to build traffic across the region and feed passengers into international flights through Entebbe.FILE Entebbe airport“What we are trying to do, we are trying to expand within Africa, to start with. That is because if you first start expanding in long routes, the loss will be too much. One, you operate a bigger airplane, which probably costs $20,000 per hour to fly. And you don’t also have the volume that you require to fill that airplane,” he said.The airline plans to begin flights to Ghana, while targeting markets including Kigali and Accra, with further expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and other African countries. “Whereas, if you grow in the region, if you expand in the region, one-hour, two-hour, three-hour flight. First of all, you go there with a lower-capacity airplane, so the cost per hour is much less. And you collect traffic and bring the traffic into Entebbe and feed it into the long one,” he explained.He said operating large aircraft on long routes without sufficient passenger volumes would deepen losses. Instead, the airline should use smaller aircraft to build traffic within the region and connect passengers to international destinations through Entebbe.“What we are trying to do, we are trying to expand within Africa, to start with. That is because if you first start expanding in long routes, the loss will be too much,” Wake said.Under the strategy, passengers travelling between African countries and destinations such as India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania could connect through Entebbe.Wake compared the proposed model with hub carriers such as Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines, where passengers transit through the airline’s hub without necessarily travelling to the airline’s home city.“Why is Emirates strong? They connect people from Australia to North America to Europe to Africa to Asia, everywhere. That is the type of thing that we have to build. Even in our case in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines, over 80 per cent of the traffic travelling through Addis does not even see Addis Ababa. That is how we should build,” he said.He also argued that African airlines should cooperate rather than focus primarily on competing against one another, noting that about 80 per cent of Africa’s international traffic is carried by non-African airlines.CRJ aircraft retainedOne of Wake’s controversial decisions has been to retain the CRJ aircraft despite their history of maintenance problems. He said the regional jets are important to Uganda’s domestic tourism strategy because smaller aircraft can serve destinations where larger planes would not be commercially viable.“These CRJs will gradually be entirely for domestic. That’s our intention. And we’ll do that. As soon as we get a replacement for them in the regional flights, we will use them for domestic,” Wake said.Wake said Uganda has significant tourism potential but needs to reduce the time visitors spend travelling by road to tourist attractions.He cited gorilla tourism, arguing that tourists face lengthy road journeys to Uganda’s gorilla habitats compared with Rwanda’s investment in access infrastructure.“Uganda has more gorillas. But to reach the gorillas, you have to go by surface for 11 hours… In a country that they don’t know, tourists find it difficult to really venture, unless they are really adventurous, for an 11-hour road journey.”He proposes to develop smaller airports closer to major tourism attractions.“Build an airport in those areas. And we will be the first ones to fly to these places. And you don’t have to build a sophisticated airport. You build a fair-length runway, small, to clean with coffee, with a bathroom,” he said.“Don’t even imitate an international terminal. Build something local that will look like the place. And you will attract a lot of tourists.”Building technical capacityWake also wants Uganda Airlines to develop its own pipeline of pilots, engineers and technicians, with Soroti Flying School playing a central role.He said the airline is working with Boeing to revive and equip the institution, which he described as historically important to aviation training in East Africa. According to Wake, Boeing has agreed to provide equipment, tools, curriculum support and funding for the school.Soroti Flying SchoolWake said he recently visited Soroti and found eight students graduating — five in flying and three in engineering — and offered to recruit all eight despite not having a budget allocation for them.“I said I will take all eight even though I have no budget because I need them for tomorrow,” he said.He said he wants Uganda Airlines to recruit graduates directly from the school and train them within the airline.“If everything works for me, the next five years, graduates, all of them, I want Uganda Airlines to take them,” he said.Wake said developing technical capacity must go hand in hand with investment in physical infrastructure. Although the airline already has Ugandan pilots and technicians, he said it cannot become technically independent without a proper hangar, tools and maintenance facilities.“Having a technician is not enough. The technician will have to have the facility. Where can he maintain an airplane if you don’t even give him a hangar?” he said.Catering and cargoWake also wants Uganda Airlines to establish its own catering facility to reduce its reliance on external providers.“We need a catering facility. Our passengers eat what others give us,” he said, arguing that relying on external suppliers leaves the airline with little control over costs.He also wants the airline to gain greater control over cargo handling. Wake said the carrier transports between 20 and 23 tonnes of cargo on each London flight but currently depends on another company to handle it.“An airline should not make money on flying passengers alone,” he said.The airline is preparing to introduce dedicated freighter operations, with the first 737 freighter expected in the third quarter of next year. It also plans to expand its cargo-handling capacity with dedicated freighter aircraft.Wake said cargo could become an important source of revenue while helping Uganda expand its exports and connect businesses to international markets.“The important thing about an airline is not the money that it brings on its own. It is not the profitability that it brings. It is being an engine for development for a nation,” he said.He said he found a divided management team when he took over and has been working to build a stronger culture of collective responsibility.“I see a completely divided management team. Completely divided. Going in different directions. Suspicious of one another,” Wake said.He said his message to staff has been to work as one team and resolve disagreements internally. Wake also acknowledged that Uganda Airlines needs to improve communication with passengers and the media, particularly when flights are delayed.“We are not communicating enough,” he said, adding that the airline should provide honest explanations when problems occur and apologise when it is at fault.The post Uganda Airlines to break even in 2030 – CEO Girma appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.