KAMPALA, Uganda

Uganda Airlines will soon make its maiden flight to Dubai in UAE, the flag carrier announced on Monday.

Addressing a press conference in Uganda's capital Kampala, Uganda Airlines' CEO, Jenifer Bamuturaki said the maiden flight to Dubai was scheduled to take place at an earlier date but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have now moved it (maiden flight) to the first week of September 2021," Bamuturaki said.

This will be the first commercial flight of Uganda Airlines out of Africa. Since 2019, it has been operating in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa, South Sudan, and Tanzania.

The airline company was founded in 1977 during dictator Idi Amin Dada's regime but collapsed in 2001. Following studies and wide consultations in 2018, the Ugandan Cabinet opted to re-launch Uganda Airlines with six new jets.