Air Uganda has announced that it is indefinitely suspending operations after the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) revoked the Air Operators Certificates of all Uganda's international carriers.
In a statement, the airline placed the blame for its suspension solely on the UCAA and argued that it had conformed to all required international standards.
The airline said the UCAA's failure to pass its most recent ICAO-backed audit had resulted in it, along with Uganda Air Cargo and Transafrik International subsidiary Transafrik Uganda losing their AOCs.
In a statement, the airline said: "It is now apparent that the audit revealed shortcomings in the CAA’s oversight and regulatory capacities, consequently impacting the CAA’s ability to award Air Operators Certificates. The Ugandan CAA regrettably opted on 17th June to withdraw, without consulting the airlines affected, Air Operator’s Certificates (AOC) for all international commercial air operators registered in the country.”
Air Uganda was founded in 2007 as part of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), and operated three CRJ-200s. CEO Cornwell Muleya has now announced that all its aircraft will now be returned to their lessors in Europe.