Uganda Airlines’ Shs1.7 Trillion Aircraft Plan Sparks Parliamentary Scrutiny
A Shs1.696 trillion supplementary budget request for the national carrier has ignited a tense debate in Parliament, with lawmakers demanding assurances that history will not repeat itself.
The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, appeared before the Parliament’s Budget Committee on December 1, 2025, to defend a massive funding request aimed at acquiring 10 new aircraft for Uganda Airlines. The request comes as part of a larger supplementary budget schedule to be considered by Parliament in a plenary sitting.
Lawmaker’s Warning: “Don’t Repeat Bombardier Mistake”
The meeting, however, was dominated by concerns over past procurement failures. Paul Omara, Member of Parliament for Otuke County, directly challenged the airline’s management, urging them to assure Ugandans that the new fleet would not suffer the same fate as the Bombardier CRJ900 jets bought during the airline’s revival.
“You remember the Bombardier we bought, later on, we soon discovered that there were no spare parts, they were no longer in production and I don’t know what we are going to do with those aircrafts,” Omara stated.
He pressed for a guarantee, adding: “We would want to have assurance from you and the team that this procurement that you will do will be a show of future support for those 10 aircrafts.”
Minister Defends Urgent “Slot” Payments
In his defense, Gen. Katumba explained the complexities and competitive nature of modern aircraft procurement. He argued that the immediate payment was crucial to secure manufacturing slots with aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus, who are facing massive order backlogs from larger airlines.
“We are buying just this, but when you look at companies like Qatar, they have made an order for 465 aircrafts with Boeing. So, if you don’t pay for your slot, then you’ll never get these aircrafts,” the Minister said.
He clarified that the payments would be structured: “So, part of this is to pay to book our slot and so that we keep paying as we maintain, as we get the money. But the most important thing is to secure now our slot so that we can know when to finish the payment.”
The Fleet and Financial Breakdown
According to the Minister’s submission, Uganda Airlines is in the process of acquiring a fleet of 10 aircraft:
· Four mid-range or narrow-body Airbus models.
· Four wide-body Boeing aircraft.
· Two Boeing-converted freighters for cargo operations.
The Shs422.264 billion embedded within the larger Shs1.696 trillion request is an initial payment for this purchase in the 2025/2026 financial year. The breakdown includes:
· UGX 247.019 billion for pre-delivery payments at the purchaser agreement signature.
· A shared UGX 275.245 billion for the next pre-delivery payment required in January 2026 from both Boeing and Airbus.
The substantial supplementary request sets the stage for a critical parliamentary debate, as lawmakers weigh the national carrier’s ambitious expansion plans against the lessons learned from a previous costly misstep.
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