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Jambojet Restores Nairobi-Entebbe Route After Six-Year Gap

Jambojet resumed daily Nairobi–Entebbe flights on October 1 from KSh22,950 one-way, restoring a route dropped in 2020 and adding regional capacity for Kenyan agents.

October 2026 - Kenya Association of Travel Agents
October 2026 - Kenya Association of Travel AgentsAI-generated

Itinerary

  1. Jambojet resumed daily Nairobi–Entebbe flights on October 1, 2026, after suspending the route in 2020; it first served the market from 2018.
  2. Published one-way fares from Nairobi start at KSh22,950 (about US$170), operated with Dash 8-400 aircraft on a 65-minute sector.
  3. Jambojet is a KATA corporate member; KATA represents more than 300 Kenyan travel agencies, and the airline plans cargo and parcel operations on the route.

Jambojet resumed daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe on October 1, restoring a regional route it suspended in 2020 and adding scheduled capacity on one of East Africa's busiest cross-border corridors.

The Kenya Airways subsidiary, which first entered the Uganda market in 2018, is operating the 65-minute service with Dash 8-400 aircraft. Published one-way fares from Nairobi start at KSh22,950, roughly US$170, though fares vary by booking conditions and availability. The airline has positioned the route around direct access, reliability and affordability.

The economics of the corridor stretch well beyond the flight itself. Nairobi and Entebbe anchor two economies linked by tourism, trade, corporate travel and regional investment, and the new capacity gives companies that depend on predictable movement between the two markets a scheduled alternative to carriers already flying the route. Jambojet has also said it intends to add cargo and parcel operations, which would extend the route's revenue base beyond passengers.

Kenya's officials framed the resumption in commercial terms at the launch. Kenya's High Commissioner to Uganda Ababu Namwamba described the connection as a link whose opportunities extend into trade, tourism, investment and people-to-people movement. Principal Secretary for Aviation and Aerospace Development Teresia Mbaika said the additional gateway would support business, investment and tourism connections.

For Kenyan travel agents, the route changes itinerary construction. A traveller originating in Uganda can use Entebbe–Nairobi as the first sector of a wider Kenyan trip, with Jambojet's domestic network providing onward access to Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu and Diani. That gives agents another tool for packaging regional and coastal travel, while corporate travel managers gain an additional scheduled option between the two business centres.

The corridor serves several demand types at once: corporate travellers needing frequent connections, tourism operators moving visitors between destinations, and traders who currently depend partly on surface transport. The reintroduction also restores a regional dimension to a carrier whose network has been concentrated on Kenya's domestic market, linking Uganda into a network reaching several Kenyan destinations.

Jambojet's ties to the trade run through the Kenya Association of Travel Agents, where it holds corporate membership. KATA represents more than 300 travel agencies and works with airlines on issues affecting the travel trade. CEO Nicanor Sabula represented the association at the launch at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport alongside Mbaika, Namwamba and Kenya Tourism Board CEO June Chepkemei — a signal of the agent sector's direct interest in restored regional capacity and the booking, corporate travel and multi-destination itinerary opportunities it creates.

The immediate test is demand. CEO Karanja Ndegwa said the proposition centres on taking passengers directly between the two cities and growing the service as demand develops. The operation starts at one flight a day on a route that has been absent from the carrier's network for six years, making early load factors the number to watch.

If passenger uptake holds, cargo and frequency expansion would follow, deepening the route's role in the regional network and widening the inventory Kenyan and Ugandan sellers can book.

via katakenya.org (Original)

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Grace Kim

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Correspondent covering business strategy at Travel Trade Desk.

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