#UGANDA’S TRAVEL BAN FORCES BRUSSELS AIRLINES TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO ENTEBBE DUE TO LACK OF PASSENGERS
(Posted 16th March 2020)
Following the announcement by the Ugandan government last week, that travelers from more than a dozen mainly European countries were to be placed in quarantine for 14 days at their own expense, should they attempt to come to Uganda, are signs firming up that come this weekend Brussels Airlines will halt their services, which presently come daily to Entebbe via Kigali and Bujumbura.
Connectivity, should other European airlines follow suit, will be severely reduced, more so as Qatar Airways had signalled a halt of their flights too by mid week.
The Belgian Embassy has earlier today also informed their citizens of a temporary halt of flights, initially between 21st and 28th of March but this could be extended should #COVID19 cases in Belgium and across Europe continue to rise.
The airline, since the days of Sabena back in the 1950’s, had been serving Entebbe almost uninterrupted and only diverted flights when the international airport was closed on a few occasions in the 1970’s.
Sabena originally flew the Boeing B707 to Uganda, followed by the Boeing B747 and the DC10. That was later followed by the introduction of the Airbus A310.
When Sabena was dragged into a financial grave by majority shareholder SwissAir did the airline within the year re-emerge as SN Brussels, before a year later rebranding into Brussels Airlines, then using a state of the art Airbus A330.
More recently did the airline introduce their new cabin layout, offering a revamped Business Class with Michelin chef cuisine, a state of the art Premium Economy Class and the ever dependable Economy Class, also with new seat features.
Besides passengers has Brussels Airlines also uplifted significant quantities of fruits, vegetables and chilled fish on a daily basis to the main consumer markets of Europe and the lack of this cargo space will hit exporters just as hard as it will hit travelers seeking to travel across the world.
Brussels Airlines is a cornerstone partner of ATCNews and we are all looking forward to welcoming the ‘Savoir Vivre‘ back to Uganda, sooner rather than later!
