Air Uganda’s return to service remains uncertain, even as the civil aviation authority says the carrier has cleared the three most critical stages in the recertification process.

Air Uganda’s international operating licence was withdrawn by regulators on June 17, alongside those of three other airlines. The CAA withdrew the certificates after it updated its procedures, informing the operators of the new regime just days before the suspensions.

The EastAfrican has learned that the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) and Air Uganda majority shareholder, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKfed), are still locked in negotiations over how to proceed to the final stage — inspection of the operator’s fleet and demonstration flights in standard operating conditions. However, Air Uganda returned its fleet to lessors last month.

“We are considering this, but it may be premature for me to say what the outcome will be,” said Air Uganda chairman Mahmood Manji in reaction to the reports.
While nobody was speaking on record because the parties undertook to keep the dispute out of the press, a UCAA source said the regulator has offered to send, at its cost, a team of inspectors to check the aircraft said to be parked at Paris Orly airport in France.

READ: Air Uganda failed to meet safety requirements, aviation authority says

According to the same source, the issue now is not just recertification but investor confidence in the fairness and predictability of the regulator’s actions as well as accountability for the losses suffered during the grounding.

One operator, Ndege Juu Africa, has refused to undergo the recertification, challenging the UCAA to justify its action.

According to Ndege’s Tim Cooper, the operators had valid certificates that had been issued a few months earlier. He said the regulator’s decision to allow them to continue operating domestic flights suggests that the reasons for the grounding were not safety-related.

“To say that we are not safe to operate but can carry on with domestic operations is to suggest that the UCAA places a lower value on the lives of Ugandans who would be exposed to risk if our operations were unsafe,” Mr Cooper said.

For Air Uganda, which did not cover local destinations, the withdrawal of the licence meant a complete shutdown. Regional charter operator, Ndege Juu Africa and Kampala Aero Club can still operate domestic flights.

Sources say that besides the uncertainty caused by the suspensions, Air Uganda was in the middle of critical activities that were set back months. The carrier was in negotiations for a shareholding by the Ugandan government, a fleet rollover, and a system upgrade.

According to available information, the fleet rollover from the CRJ to a new type of aircraft was supposed to have commenced in August, as leases on the existing fleet began to lapse.

The airline was planning an upgrade to newer aircraft to provide a business class and facilitate new routes to central, southern and North Africa.

In its haste to deal with the immediate fallout that saw airfares out of Entebbe skyrocket, the CAA gave away rights to Nairobi, Juba, Bujumbura and Dar es Salaam.

Rwandair and Ethiopian Airlines were given fifth freedom rights to Juba while Kenya Airways was allowed unlimited frequencies on the Entebbe-Nairobi route.

According to experts, under the Yamoussoukro Decision, these rights cannot be withdrawn and Air Uganda will have to assess the business case for each of these routes before resuming services.