Uganda Airlines once more exceeded expectations. The nation’s carrier traveled to West Africa during Covid and returned trapped Ugandans to their motherland.
An executive who had traveled to West Africa with the expectation of returning on schedule was one of the passengers at the time. He was unaware of the peculiar circumstances that would greet him on March 20, 2020. One of the things that caused this man agony was his 4-year-old child, who wouldn’t eat or go to sleep until the father returned. Every second they spent together on a video call caused more suffering than it alleviated. The absence of the father caused the child, who was so connected to him, great suffering. When these Ugandans came home, it was like having a new baby. I actually saw this development.
After the civil war, the same airline flew Ugandans who were stuck in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan to Ethiopia. Because it was unsafe to fly near Sudan, the Uganda Airlines crew decided to risk their lives to save their countrymen. Another milestone had been reached. When the airbus landed at the airport, I was there to witness it. As I spoke with people who had returned, I only saw relief, rebirth, and joy.
200 passengers, all pilgrims, and 12 members of the cockpit and cabin crew boarded Uganda Airlines’ Airbus 5X-NIL, registered as UR 4419, and aircraft landed at Entebbe International Airport on July 8 at 6:00am. When the majority of the pilgrims were questioned during the live transmission of the event, they expressed happiness, love, comfort, and appreciation. The excellent in-cabin service and the professionalism displayed by the cockpit personnel were the most satisfying. One pilgrim reportedly observed, “I judge a pilot’s perfection by how he or she takes off or lands, and the captain in command was perfect.”
