Uganda Airlines receives two Bombardier passenger planes

Uganda’s national carrier Uganda Airlines received two passenger planes on Monday, doubling the size of the fledgling airline’s fleet.

The airline received two CRJ900 planes from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, the airline said on its Twitter handle. Each plane can seat 72 passengers.

The airline is considering expanding its destinations to include Kinshasa, Zanzibar, Lusaka, Asmara, Hargeisa, Djibouti and Addis Ababa, it said.

Uganda Airlines was relaunched in August, with the country eager to take a slice of the region’s growing aviation business that is currently dominated by Ethiopian Airlines.

Uganda Airlines expects to receive two Airbus A330 Neo planes soon. The first will arrive by the end of the year, and the second a few months later.

The state carrier was founded in 1976 by former dictator Idi Amin but liquidated in 2001 during a broader push to sell off struggling state-owned firms.

The airline started flying again last month, banking on passengers from the Uganda’s emerging oil industry and the traditional tourism sector.