Kenyan low-cost carrier Jambojet will restart daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe on 1 October, returning to Uganda six years after the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to suspend the route.
The airline has opened bookings for the service, with one-way fares advertised from about US$170. The fare includes taxes and one piece of cabin baggage weighing up to 10kg, according to Jambojet’s booking information; checked luggage is sold separately.
The new flight will put Jambojet into direct competition with its parent company, Kenya Airways, and Uganda Airlines on the roughly 520-kilometre corridor. It also gives Ugandan passengers another route into Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, with connections across Jambojet’s domestic network to destinations including Mombasa, Diani, Malindi and Lamu.
Jambojet said it would also carry cargo and parcels, adding capacity for businesses moving time-sensitive goods between the two neighbouring East African economies.
“Our return to Uganda is a strategic step forward in our mission to strengthen regional connectivity,” Jambojet chief executive Karanja Ndegwa said at a stakeholder meeting in Kampala on 20 August.
He said the airline saw opportunities in business travel, tourism and trade, and aimed to offer a more affordable and reliable option on the route.
The launch comes as traffic at Entebbe International Airport has moved beyond its pre-pandemic peak. The airport handled a record 2.49 million international passengers in 2025, up 10.9% from 2.24 million in 2024, according to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority. That recovery provides a stronger market for new capacity, although demand can still be disrupted by regional health, security and airspace shocks.
Jambojet estimates that about 300,000 passengers will travel between Kenya and Uganda in 2026. The airline did not publish the methodology behind that forecast, so the figure should be treated as its market projection rather than an independently verified passenger count.
The carrier first entered Uganda in February 2018, initially operating two flights a day between Nairobi and Entebbe with Dash 8-Q400 turboprop aircraft. It suspended the service in 2020 as border closures and collapsing demand disrupted regional aviation. Plans for an earlier return were subsequently delayed as the airline concentrated on rebuilding its Kenyan network.
Jambojet’s October launch is earlier than the March 2027 timetable outlined by company officials in April, suggesting that additional aircraft capacity and recovering demand allowed the carrier to accelerate its regional expansion.
The airline operates 11 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft. It carried its 10 millionth passenger in June, marking twelve years of operations after its 2014 launch.
Its reliability record is likely to form part of the sales pitch. Aviation data provider OAG ranked Jambojet’s on-time performance at 86.54% across 1,795 flights in July, placing it tenth among the airlines covered globally and second in Africa, according to Business Daily. In aviation reporting, a flight is generally counted as on time when it arrives or departs within 15 minutes of schedule.
Uganda Tourism Board chairperson Pearl Hoareau Kakooza welcomed the carrier’s return, saying the service would support regional travel, trade and tourism.
For passengers, the main test will be the final cost after optional baggage and other extras are added—not simply the headline launch fare. For Jambojet, the challenge will be to fill a daily turboprop service while competing against established carriers that offer multiple frequencies and wider international connections.
If it succeeds, the route will do more than restore a pre-pandemic link. It will add price competition and cargo space on one of East Africa’s busiest short international corridors, while giving Ugandan travellers easier access to Kenya’s domestic tourism network.
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