Uganda Airlines chief executive Girma Wake says the national carrier will take on the pilot graduates of the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA) in Soroti and train them itself. "We will produce a lot of Ugandan pilots," he told Ugandan media in Accra on 29 October 2026, New Vision reported on 4 November. "I am working with Soroti also to get more new students and I will directly take all the graduates and train them"1. In August he said he wanted the airline to hire every graduate of the school over the next five years2.

What did Girma Wake say about Ugandan pilots?

Wake, who ran Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 to 2011, has led Uganda Airlines since February 20261. He spoke in Accra two days after the airline launched its Entebbe to Accra service via Lagos. "It is good to develop your own people as much as possible," he said. He also said: "When we need more people, we will employ from outside. But we will do everything possible to make our people ready"1.

In October Rita Nasirumbi became the airline's first female captain and now commands its CRJ900 regional jets, New Vision reported. "Pretty soon we will have another captain," Wake said1.

How will the Soroti pipeline work?

Wake outlined the plan in August, Uganda Radio Network reported. On a visit to Soroti he found eight students about to graduate, five in flying and three in engineering, and offered to recruit all eight. "I said I will take all eight even though I have no budget because I need them for tomorrow," he said. "If everything works for me, the next five years, graduates, all of them, I want Uganda Airlines to take them"2. According to Wake, Boeing has agreed to provide equipment, tools, curriculum support and funding for the school2. No amount was given. When Uganda Airlines ordered its first Boeing jets in July, Wake described the deal as a long-term relationship focused on fleet growth, technical excellence, training and capacity building3.

Neither report gives an intake target for new cadets, a training budget or the terms on which graduates would join the airline12.

How do you get a CPL in Uganda?

EACAA, founded in 1971, trains pilots for a Commercial Pilot Licence issued by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA)4. Its integrated programme runs 36 months full time and ends with a UCAA CPL with multi-engine and instrument ratings. It covers all 14 ATPL theory exams, more than 170 hours of flight time including 50 hours of instrument time and 15 hours on multi-engine aircraft, and FNPT II simulator training. The academy lists tuition at US$24,000 for Ugandan students and US$48,000 for international students, with instalment plans available4.

Pilots who already hold a Private Pilot Licence can instead take the academy's 19-month CPL course, which includes at least 120 hours of flight time and costs US$9,000 for Ugandan students or US$18,000 for international students. It leads to a UCAA CPL with a night rating5. Applicants for the integrated programme must be at least 18 years old, have finished secondary school with mathematics and physics, hold a Class 1 medical certificate and have ICAO English Level 446. Admission runs through an online application, an aptitude and medical assessment and an interview, with an application fee of UGX 100,000. International applicants first have their school results assessed against Ugandan standards6.

Training elsewhere in East Africa has meant extra tests at home. In November 2025 Ronnie Barongo, UCAA Director for Safety, Security and Economic Regulation, said Ugandan trainees who study in neighbouring countries face new examinations when they return. Regulators are working towards a single standard so that a licence issued in Uganda is valid in all eight East African Community partner states7.

Our explainers cover what a CPL costs, the CPL requirements, integrated and modular training, the Class 1 medical and aviation English. Other schools in the region are listed under flight schools in Africa.

How does Uganda Airlines recruit pilots?

By early September the airline had advertised Boeing 737 captain and first officer positions, The Independent reported. The airline plans to switch the Boeing 737-800 it wet-leases from Ethiopian Airlines to a dry lease and fly it with its own crews; UCAA rules limit wet leases to six months8. In Accra, Wake said the wet lease had been extended until March 20271.

Selection is strict. In February 2024 the head of flight operations, David Kaweesa, described a four-step process for pilot candidates and said only 4 of 68 pilots interviewed in one intake passed the preliminary assessment. "We spend up to USD 40,000 to qualify a pilot on the CRJ," he said9. Our Uganda Airlines profile sets out the airline's fleet and base, and our guide to the pilot assessment explains the stages most airline selections share.

What does this mean for expat pilots?

Wake's stated priority is to train Ugandans first and to recruit from outside only when the airline needs more people1. The airline has employed expatriate pilots before. In the last quarter of 2023 it lost eight of them to widebody jobs at larger network carriers, its then chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki said, and the schedule was pared down while the airline sought replacements9.

The fleet is small today. Uganda Airlines owns six aircraft: four CRJ900s and two A330s. Two of the six are grounded. Wake expects the second A330 to fly again by March and plans to lease another aircraft from Europe in November1. In July the airline ordered four Boeing 737-8s and four 787-9s, its first Boeing purchase3, with deliveries scheduled for 2032 and 20332. Current openings are on our pilot jobs page.