 A new national airline is to start flying out of Entebbe International Airport on October 1, investment state minister Prof. Seakales Kiwanuka has said.Â
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Victoria International Airways (VIA), in which the government holds 25% shareholding, will start with regional flights and eventually go continental to destinations like South Africa. The other major shareholder is Andi Kunz from Switzerland, while others are from South Africa and Malaysia.Â
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“The airline will start off with one Boeing 737 carrying 100 passengers and will soon set up offices on and lugogo Mall. Its initial capital is US$1m (about sh1.8b), of which the Government had paid US$250,000,†he said.Â
Kimathi Avenue
He said they might increase the working capital as business grew, but refused to speculate on the chances of the airline, as other local carriers had been or were doing badly.Â
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Kiwanuka said preparatory requirements had taken time to complete.Â
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“After 14 months of preparatory work, during which time the provisional licence was issued to VIA Uganda, consensus was reached with Dr. Ezra Suruma on the financing structure and the green light was given,†he said.Â
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Kiwanuka said it could not take on the name Uganda Airlines which still had proprietary rights to the name while its liquidation was still in the courts.Â
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He said he expected fares to go down due to competition.
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BY TANAH HADIJAH
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