East African Business Week

KAMPALA, UGANDA - Bahrain national carrier, Gulf Air, will resume flights to Entebbe with  four direct flights a week  starting December 5, 2011.
The airline in 2003 suspended  operations in Uganda due to restructuring and the dwindling aircrafts to handle the route.
Gulf Air made its inaugural launch in Uganda in 1993.
According to Mr. Karim Makhlouf, the Chief Commercial Officer, the Entebbe destination will be the fifth in Africa after their prior launch in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and two other destinations.
"There is a growing number of travelers from the gulf countries to Uganda. Entebbe alone is handling about 1.2 million travellers per year which is a great opportunity for us," explained Makhlouf while speaking to the media in Kampala. The re-launch of Gulf Air has preceded that of the Qatari national carrier the Qatar Airways, which is expected to commence flights this November. Other airlines like Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Eltihad, have started plying the Ugandan skylines or showed interest to commence flights.
Makhlouf noted that Uganda and Bahrain have had a long standing relationship following an air service agreement signed 1993 and the re-launch will lead to huge commercial and tourism opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs and business people from both markets.
He added that the airline has made considerable changes to its portifolio and believes that the new route will be a success for both passengers and cargo operations as they seek to serve the underserved markets.
"This will provide seamless connectivity across the Middle East, Europe, Far East and the Indian sub-continent through Bahrain, the fastest hub in the region," noted Makhlouf.