Fastjet set for Dar es Salaam to Entebbe flights

Information received over the past week suggests that Fastjet has been in talks with the local aviation authorities to commence nonstop flights between Dar es Salaam and Entebbe. The flights between the two airports were disrupted when the UCAA, to avoid sanction by ICAO after the International Civil Aviation Organization had carried out an audit on them, grounded all international flights by locally-registered airlines. Previously Air Uganda, in codeshare with Precision Air, had operated double-daily flights with their CRJ200 aircraft, but effective June 17 the operation was halted and travelers had to fly via Nairobi as Precision Air itself was not able to step into the gap at the time.

Fastjet has reportedly sought designated airline status from the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority and applied to the Ugandan authorities to be granted traffic rights. The latest update now speaks of Fastjet planning to commence flights to Entebbe in September, with initially four weekly frequencies, using their single-class Airbus A319 on the route. This would, after Johannesburg, Lusaka and Harare the fourth international route for Fastjet.

The airline has also been working on setting up an airline in Kenya, its initial target market before launching operations from Tanzania, where it now flies from Dar to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya.