Ugandan private airline to fly six times a week to Sudan’s Juba

Nov 6, 2006 (KAMPALA) — An Ugandan private airline, Dairo Air, will start this week fly six times to the southern Sudan capital, Juba in stead of flying to Juba four times a week.

Dairo Air (Royal Daisy Airlines) is a passenger division of Dairo Air Services (DAS), a Ugandan cargo company founded in 1983.

“At the launch of this service, our goal was to fly to Juba daily before the end of this year. This is exactly what we have achieved because of what we have been able to do in the market,” Mr. Oscar Semawere, the carrier’s operations manager told Business Week.

Semawere said begining November 9, the airline will increase its weekly frequencies from four to six a week, having increased them from three to four just two months ago in September.

“Starting November 9 we will fly to Juba six times a week, with the exception of Saturday,” Semawere said.

“We want to improve the route, there are more people travelling to Juba to the extent that some passengers cannot get on to flights.”

Starting this Thursday, Royal Daisy Airlines will leave Entebbe for Juba at 08.00hrs and leave Juba at 11.15hrs.

On Fridays, the airline will leave Entebbe at 15.00hrs and leave Juba at 18.15hrs, Sunday at 15.00hrs, Monday at 08.00hrs, Tuesday at 15.00hrs and Wednesday at 10.00hrs.

Since its launch one year ago, Dairo Air, which will soon change its name to Royal Daisy Airlines, has been operating a 30-seater Embrear-120 aircraft with a cargo carrying capacity of 750 kilogrammes.

Semawere said the route has grown over the last one year from an average of 15 passengers to a point where some passengers have been left behind.

“That is especially true on return trips from Juba to Entebbe,” Semawere said.

A one-way ticket to Juba is priced at $220 (Ush407,000) and $440 (Ush814,000) for a return ticket. Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, is attracting a lot of business and investments following the signing of a peace agreement that ended a two-decades civil war there early 2005.

(East African Business Week)