UGANDA (eTN) – Last week saw pen put to paper in Kampala, when the long drawn-out negotiations over a new BASA were finally concluded. The Ugandan minister for works and transport, John Nasasira, signed the agreement into effect with his Congolese counterpart, Marie Kayena, countersigning the new deal.
Relations between the two countries, often rocky in the past, seem to have improved in recent months, paving the way for greater cooperation, including the field of aviation.
Presently two DRC-registered airlines are flying from Eastern Congo to Entebbe, namely TMK and Cetraca Aviation, both covering the route from Goma. The new BASA will permit airlines from both countries to fly between their main airports, Entebbe and Kinshasa, but also from Goma, Kisangani, and Bunia, among others. It is understood that Air Uganda had expressed interest in flights to Eastern Congo but could, up to now, not proceed in the absence of an enabling bilateral air services agreement.