Kenyan low cost carrier Jambojet is back on the Nairobi–Entebbe corridor after a six-year absence.
The airline will add a daily turboprop service to one of East Africa’s busiest short-haul markets. Its return also shows that regional demand has recovered enough to support another low fare operator.
The airline, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, first opened Entebbe in 2018 as its debut international route, then pulled the flights in 2020 when the pandemic collapsed cross border travel and it concentrated capacity on Kenya’s domestic network.
Daily services resumed on October 1, 2026. The inaugural flight was received at Entebbe with a water salute, and the carrier becomes the 21st international operator at the airport.
Board chair Patricia Ithau said Uganda was where the airline first tested itself outside Kenya. The earlier goal was simply to start, while the current one is to scale. She said that the withdrawal was not driven by weak demand, and pointed to a larger operation behind the relaunch.
The airline has an active fleet that grew to 11 aircraft in April 2026, more than 10 million passengers carried since the airline launched in 2014, and on-time performance of 86.45 percent in July 2026.
The service uses De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. Published schedules have put the Nairobi departure around 09:30, with arrival in Entebbe about an hour and a half later and the return leaving shortly after.
One-way fares have been marketed from roughly KSh22,950, or about $170, though prices move with date and availability. Managing director Karanja Ndegwa has said the airline will start with one daily flight and add frequencies if loads justify it.
The link gives Ugandan travellers connections through Nairobi to the Kenyan coast—Mombasa, Diani, Malindi and Lamu and the airline has also indicated it will move cargo and parcels on the route.
Entebbe–Nairobi ranks among the top three destinations for passengers leaving Uganda and is one of the more competitive regional sectors. Uganda Civil Aviation Authority director general Fred Bamwesigye said national traffic has reached 2.48 million passengers and that additional carriers help sustain that growth, while the authority continues airport works and industry rebuilding.
More than 225,000 Ugandans visited Kenya last year, and Kenya’s high commissioner in Kampala, Ababu Namwamba, called Uganda Kenya’s largest export market worldwide.
Minister of State for Works and Transport Fred Byamukama tied the relaunch to a wider connectivity push. Uganda has bilateral air-service agreements with 64 countries, and he described stronger air links as a way to lower barriers for trade, tourism and investment.
