(Posted 31st July 2026)
Brussels Airlines’ Kampala office has been closed effective immediately, shutting out their faithful travelers who over decades frequented the airline offices to buy their tickets. Said one affected traveler to ATCNews on condition of anonymity: ‘What do I do now? I used to come to Rwenzori House to get my bookings done and buy my tickets and now they are closed. If one wants personal service, face to face, the remaining option seems to be to use a travel agent. I have also talked to friends of mine who used Brussels Airlines and they are also lost for words. They ask for understanding? I have no understanding and I am sure many many others also don’t understand‘.
No reasons were given by the airline for the move, reportedly the second such office closure in Africa and also reportedly more to follow.
The move bears the fingerprints of Lufthansa Group’s gone crazy ‘Sparprogramm’ which has over time hollowed out the fabric of the Belgian national airline, now 100 percent owned by Lufthansa – no doubt a situation many in Belgium regret day after day and more and more.
Staff of the airline at the Kampala office were also unusually shtumm about the developments and it was only third parties who have told the tale of fears for jobs by those affected by the office closure.
Below are some of ATCNews’ references to the airline vis a vis Uganda and a historical breakdown of Uganda’s air connections with Belgium, going back to the late 1940’s when Belgian national airline Sabena started to operate flights to Entebbe.
Sabena’s history of flights to Entebbe, as covered by ATCNews, highlights key milestones in connecting Uganda to Europe: initial commercial flights landed at Entebbe in 1947, regular operations began in 1953 alongside routes to the Belgian Congo, and direct Brussels-to-Entebbe services were officially launched in 1963 after Uganda attained independence.
- 1947: Early commercial aircraft for Sabena landed at Entebbe International Airport.
- 1953: Formal operations to Uganda began in conjunction with flights to Lubumbashi.
- 1963: Direct flights linking Brussels and Entebbe were officially launched.
- Transition: Following Sabena’s collapse (caused by then Swissair’s bankruptcy), operations were taken over by SN Brussels, which later rebranded into Brussels Airlines, continuing the legacy route to Entebbe.
SABENA, SN Brussels and then Brussels Airlines – excellence in the skies over Uganda
