Jambojet returns to Entebbe with daily flights and fares from KSh22,950

Low-cost carrier revives Nairobi–Uganda route after six years, targeting traders, tourists and a growing East African middle class

By Grace Wanja

Jambojet resumed daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe yesterday, relaunching a route it first operated in 2018 and positioning itself to capture the growing movement of people and commerce between Kenya and Uganda with fares starting at KSh22,950 one way.

The first flight departed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday morning, marking the formal return of the 65-minute connection to Entebbe International Airport. The relaunch was accompanied by a flag-off event that drew airline leadership, government officials and tourism representatives — a gathering that reflected the significance attached to the route beyond the commercial interests of a single carrier. For those present, the occasion represented something larger: the gradual stitching together of East Africa’s aviation fabric at a price point that ordinary travellers, not just corporate executives, can access.

Jambojet chief executive Karanja Ndegwa said the airline was returning with the accumulated experience of its first chapter on the route and a considerably stronger operational foundation beneath it. “We are returning to Entebbe with the experience we gained from our first chapter on the route, a densified network and a clear ambition to make regional travel more accessible and reliable,” Ndegwa said. “We are therefore bringing our low-cost proposition together with direct, reliable and on-time connectivity.” The carrier plans to begin with daily frequencies and increase services as demand develops, a cautious approach that reflects both the lessons of the original service and the realities of a route that must be built as much as it must be launched.

The commercial logic is straightforward enough. Kenya and Uganda are bound by significant flows of trade, tourism and family travel, and the two capitals sit less than an hour apart by air — a journey that overland travellers can spend an entire day completing. For Ugandan travellers, the Jambojet service provides a direct link into Nairobi and onward access to the airline’s domestic network, which covers Mombasa, Diani, Malindi and Lamu. Kenyan travellers, in turn, gain a convenient direct route to Kampala for business, tourism and leisure. The airline said it would work with travel agents, corporate clients and tourism organisations in both markets to develop the route and identify further opportunities for regional connectivity.

Kenya Tourism Board chief executive June Chepkemei welcomed the resumption, framing it as an opportunity to build cross-border visitor itineraries that neither country could as easily offer alone. “This Entebbe–Nairobi service will make it easier for visitors to combine experiences across our two countries,” Chepkemei said. “A traveller can enjoy Uganda’s wildlife, culture and natural beauty, then connect conveniently to Kenya’s savannahs, mountains, cities and coast.” She added that visitors arriving in Kenya would have a more accessible gateway to Uganda and the wider Great Lakes region, and that Jambojet’s daily service would give the market the frequency and flexibility it needed to grow meaningfully.

Jambojet board director Patricia Ithau placed the Entebbe relaunch within a broader shift in the airline’s identity and ambition. Having carried more than 10 million passengers since its founding and built a commanding position in Kenya’s domestic aviation market, the carrier’s focus is no longer purely internal. “When Jambojet started operations, our role was fundamentally about making air travel more accessible within Kenya. Today, having carried more than 10 million passengers and built a strong domestic network, our ambition is expanding. We want to connect more people, more markets and more opportunities across East Africa,” Ithau said. She was careful to frame regional expansion not as a numbers exercise but as something more considered. “Regional growth is not simply about adding routes. It is about building a network that responds to genuine demand and creates sustainable value for the markets we serve. The return to Entebbe is one step in that journey.”

The relaunch drew a pointed endorsement from government. Aviation and Aerospace Development Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika said the expansion of air connectivity supported Kenya’s broader ambition to entrench itself as the region’s dominant aviation hub. “Today, we are not simply celebrating a new flight schedule. We are celebrating the opening of another gateway through which people can travel, businesses can thrive, investors can explore opportunities, tourists can discover our region, and communities can strengthen their links with the wider East African market and beyond,” Mbaika said, commending the Jambojet team for what she described as an important investment in connectivity.

The relaunch arrives during a period of considerable momentum for the carrier. Jambojet expanded its active fleet to 11 aircraft in April, welcomed its 10 millionth passenger in June and recorded an on-time performance rate of 86.45 per cent in July — a figure that compares favourably with regional peers. By that same month the airline held an estimated 57 per cent share of Kenya’s domestic aviation market, a dominance that gives it both the operational depth and the commercial credibility to pursue regional ambitions without overstretching its core business.

What the Entebbe route ultimately represents, beyond the schedules and the fares and the flag-off photographs, is a bet on East African integration — the idea that closer, cheaper and more reliable connections between the region’s cities will generate demand that does not yet fully exist, and serve communities whose mobility has long been constrained by cost. At KSh22,950 one way, Jambojet is making that bet affordable enough to test properly.

The Nairobi–Entebbe service operates daily, with tickets available through the airline’s direct channels and travel partners across both countries.

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