Uganda Airlines (UR, Entebbe) acting CEO Girma Wake has disclosed that a contractual dispute with Rolls-Royce over unpaid engine maintenance fees left both of the carrier's A330-800Ns grounded earlier this year, forcing it to cannibalise engines to keep one aircraft flying and severely curtailing its long-haul operations.
Updating the Ugandan parliament's Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on the state of the airline on August 28-29, 2026, Wake gave the airline's first public account of the dispute. Previously chairman and CEO of Ethiopian Airlines and chairman of RwandAir, he was appointed by the Ugandan government on February 16 to stabilise the national carrier following the dismissal of former CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki.
He said that Rolls-Royce had terminated its TotalCare engine support agreement in October 2025 after Uganda Airlines fell behind on payments due to cash flow shortages, halting the supply of parts, maintenance, and technical support.
"The Uganda government, through the airline, paid some of that debt, but Rolls-Royce refused to recommence servicing the engines and that is what led to the grounding of the airplanes," Wake summarised.
After months of negotiations involving Airbus and threats of legal action, the parties reached a settlement. Wake said Uganda Airlines paid USD9 million in outstanding obligations before Rolls-Royce agreed to reinstate the contract.
Return to service
Uganda Airlines had maintained limited long-haul operations by temporarily wet leasing B787-8s from Ethiopian Airlines and transferring a serviceable engine from one grounded A330 to the other, enabling it to continue operating to London Gatwick and Mumbai International, while suspending Dubai International amid the Iran conflict.
He said Uganda Airlines had recently removed two affected Trent 7000 engines for overhaul at Rolls-Royce's maintenance centre in Singapore, with repairs expected to take around 120 to 125 days.
This means that the remaining grounded A330, 5X-CRN (msn 1979), is unlikely to return to service before January-February 2027, while 5X-NIL (msn 1977), currently operating, will need an engine replacement in January 2027, with both widebodies expected to be back in service by March 2027.
The financial impact
At the same briefing, CFO Allan Joel Kyeyune disclosed that Uganda Airlines had incurred penalties under its Rolls-Royce engine agreement because its A330 fleet was deployed mainly to Mumbai and Dubai rather than on longer sectors for which the maintenance contract had been structured, with London becoming its first route that met the aircraft's optimal utilisation profile.
He told the committee that the airline had accumulated USD78 million in debt over the past three years as operating revenues and government support failed to keep pace with contractual obligations.
He said the government had validated UGX183 billion shillings (USD48.4 million) for funding, of which UGX41 billion (USD10.8 million) had been disbursed. The remaining UGX141.9 billion (USD37.5 million) is expected during the 2026/27 financial year, he added.
Rolls-Royce responds
Asked for comment, Omar Ali Adib, Rolls-Royce's senior vice president for the Middle East and Africa, said: "Rolls-Royce is proud of the longstanding relationship we have with Uganda Airlines and of how we have worked together through what was a challenging period.
"The suspension of TotalCare services is not something we take lightly and followed an extended period of engagement with the airline to resolve the significant outstanding contractual obligations. Despite the suspension, we maintained our critical support to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft.
"TotalCare is Rolls-Royce’s long-term engine services programme, designed to give airlines predictable maintenance costs through regular monthly payments to enable access to engine support over the life of the agreement. Among other services, it covers the planned maintenance shop visits, with Rolls-Royce taking on much of the time-on-wing and maintenance cost risk so customers can focus on operating their aircraft reliably.
"We recognise the significant financial and operational pressures facing airlines across Africa and work closely with our customers to navigate those challenges. We are pleased that our relationship with Uganda Airlines today is strong and constructive, and we are positive about the airline’s future and its ambitions for international growth."
Legal dispute with Global
On a completely separate dispute, Wake for the first time also publicly confirmed that Uganda Airlines is pursuing legal proceedings in London against South Africa's Global Aviation Operations (trading as Global Airways) to recover what he said was a USD930,000 security deposit paid under a previous A320-200 wet lease. He said the airline had declined to award Global Aviation a subsequent wet lease after the Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-based ACMI specialist failed to refund the deposit following reconciliation of flying hours.
According to ch-aviation research, the lawsuit titled "Uganda National Airlines Company Limited v. Global Airways Limited" (case number LM-2026-000117) was filed in the London Circuit Commercial Court as a Part 7 claim (aviation) on March 23, 2026.
Global Aviation Operations has declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. "Unfortunately, because it is still in litigation, we cannot make any comment at this time," a spokesperson said.
