Uganda launches national airline with flight to Kenya

Uganda Tuesday re-launched its national airline after 2 decades with an inaugural flight to Nairobi, becoming the latest East African nation seeking to revive their aviation industry. "The airline will first fly to 7 destinations. Starting with Nairobi, Mogadishu, Juba and Dar es Saalam. And then to Mombasa, Kilimanjaro and Bujumbura," said prime minister Ruhakana Rugunda. Uganda Airlines is launching into increasingly crowded East African skies, where both Rwanda and Tanzania have in recent years revived their national airlines in a bid to capture a slice of the booming market. Uganda Airlines was founded by former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1976 but the carrier was liquidated in 2001 after a failed bid to privatise the floundering company, dogged by corruption and mismanagement. <br/>