Kenya and Uganda are taking concrete steps to lower the cost of regional air travel and eliminate cross-border bottlenecks, aiming to boost trade, tourism, and seamless mobility between the two East African neighbors.
High flight costs have long been a major barrier for travelers, despite the short distance separating both nations. Currently, a 50-minute flight between Entebbe and Nairobi can cost up to Ksh103,600, while tickets to the Kenyan Coast reach approximately Ksh91,000 (about $700). Private sector and government stakeholders argue that such steep fares severely limit regional movement.
“As we discuss increased travel, one of the biggest challenges why we are not seeing the numbers between Kenya and Uganda, and largely East Africa, is the cost of travel,” said Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Executive Director Stephen Asiimwe.
Addressing the imbalance, Uganda’s Consul General to Kenya, Amb. Herbert Kiguli, suggested treating East Africa as a unified aviation market to strip away redundant charges driving up ticket prices. “You can imagine it is cheaper to travel from Mombasa or Entebbe to Dubai than to travel from Uganda to Kenya, and that is why the two governments need to do more in terms of reduction on taxes on air travel,” noted former Uganda Consul General Amb. Paul Mukumbya.
Relief may be on the horizon. A low-cost carrier is scheduled to resume daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe starting October 1, 2026, offering one-way fares from roughly Ksh22,950. Tourism operators expect the price reduction to unlock significant revenue for hotels, transport providers, and tour agencies in both countries.
Cross-border mobility is already expanding despite structural obstacles. Kenyan visitors to Uganda grew by over 100,000 between 2024 and 2025, while Ugandan travel to the Kenyan Coast rose from 170,000 to 260,000 over the same period. By the end of 2026, projections suggest over 600,000 Kenyans will visit Uganda, with Ugandan arrivals in Kenya expected to top 400,000.
Beyond airfares, officials are working to remove administrative barriers, including requirements for tourists to declare the duration of their stay, mobile money interoperability constraints, and the absence of a regional tourism Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) for joint packages.
These interventions will anchor the upcoming 5th Uganda-Kenya Coast Tourism and Innovation Summit, set for October 26–27 in Mombasa under the theme of unlocking tourism opportunities by addressing policy bottlenecks and leveraging technology.
