The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Safarilink’s decision to link Nairobi, Kisumu and Entebbe is beginning to reshape how travellers move across the Lake Victoria region, a corridor that for years lacked direct air connectivity despite its economic and cultural ties.
Two weeks ago, the airline rolled out the enhanced service with daily morning flights and plans to add an afternoon rotation on select days from January 2026. Introductory fares start at $110 from Kisumu to Entebbe and $150 from Nairobi to Entebbe, a pricing strategy that signals Safarilink’s intent to stimulate demand rather than simply serve existing traffic.
The significance of the route lies less in the aircraft schedule and more in what it removes. Until now, passengers travelling between western Kenya and Uganda were forced to transit through Nairobi or rely on long road journeys, adding hours and uncertainty to trips that should be routine. For business travellers, particularly those operating across borders, the time savings could quickly translate into lower costs and more frequent engagement.
Kisumu, long seen as a regional backwater compared with Nairobi and Mombasa, has been steadily repositioning itself as a commercial hub for western Kenya. Direct air access to Entebbe strengthens that trajectory, giving the city faster links to Uganda’s political and economic centre and improving its appeal to investors and conference organisers. For Entebbe, the route expands its catchment area beyond Nairobi, tapping into a growing market of travellers from western Kenya.
Tourism is another early beneficiary. The new service allows safari travellers from the Masai Mara to connect through Migori into Kisumu and onward to Uganda, making multi-country itineraries easier to plan and execute. At the same time, passengers arriving in Entebbe can now connect through Nairobi to Kenya’s beach destinations—Diani, Lamu and Malindi—as well as Zanzibar, reinforcing East Africa’s pitch as a single, interconnected tourism circuit.
Safarilink Chief Executive Officer Alex Avedi says the route is part of a broader strategy to improve regional accessibility and strengthen historical ties across East Africa. That approach aligns with a wider trend among regional airlines, which are increasingly targeting secondary cities to unlock new demand rather than competing head-on on saturated trunk routes.
Whether the Nairobi–Kisumu–Entebbe service ultimately succeeds will depend on sustained passenger uptake and operational reliability. But early signals suggest the route is addressing a real structural gap in East Africa’s aviation network. In doing so, Safarilink is not just adding another flight—it is testing the idea that smarter regional connectivity can do more to drive integration than grand policy statements ever could.
