Qatar Airways' first flights to Uganda set to take off

Qatar Airways' first flight to Uganda takes off next month on November 2, joining the airline's ever-growing list of countries served direct from the airline's Doha hub.

The daily non-stop scheduled flights to the Ugandan city of Entebbe mark the carrier’s first new route to the African continent since early 2007.

Uganda is fast emerging as a regional trading centre with links to Europe and the Far East, but has limited international air services – a void Qatar Airways is set to fill with its international network of routes via its Doha base.

Entebbe is the gateway to an up-until-now untapped niche leisure destination of Uganda, which has breathtaking scenery featuring colonial gardens, parks and its most famous attraction, Lake Victoria.

The Botanical Gardens may be of interest to botanists and bird-watchers and is home to a troop of Colobus and Vervet monkeys, various birds and unusual species of trees and plants. Boat trips on Lake Victoria may attract visitors wishing to go on fishing trips and excursions to see chimpanzees on Ngamba Island.

The Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), which serves as the national zoo, is based in Entebbe. The city is also home to the State House – the official residence of the President of Uganda.

Featuring a tropical rainforest climate with relatively constant temperatures throughout the year and average annual temperatures of 21 degrees Celsius, Uganda is a year-round destination.

The Doha – Entebbe route will be served by an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.

Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said: “We are pleased to be reinforcing our presence in Africa, four years after our last move there when we launched flights to Tanzania’s capital city of Dar es Salaam. Adding Entebbe provides us with another foothold deeper into the African continent. We are confident our new route will be as successful as others being planned over the next few months around the world.”

Qatar Airways UK country manager Richard Oliver added: “Entebbe is yet another key route being launched by Qatar Airways that would appeal to UK travellers planning a holiday or business trip to Uganda.

“The UK is home to a huge population of Ugandan Asians who settled across the UK in the early 70s, and we are delighted to be able to forge this new air link offering both business and leisure travellers an opportunity to fly with our award-winning service to our newest destination launching shortly via our Doha hub.”

UK travellers can fly on Qatar Airways’ scheduled flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to Doha with convenient onward connections to Entebbe.