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Alliance Air

Ugandan airline

Alliance Airlines (later known as SA Alliance Air) was a multi-national long-haul airline based at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. It was set up in 1995 as a joint venture between South African Airways and the governments of Tanzania and Uganda. The airline ceased operations in 2000.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1995Founded1

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SA Alliance Air Boeing 747SP Gilliand
Photo: Michel Gilliand, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons4

Alliance Airlines (later known as SA Alliance Air) was a multi-national long-haul airline based at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. It was set up in 1995 as a joint venture between South African Airways and the governments of Tanzania and Uganda. The airline ceased operations in 2000.2

The story

The airline's formation was linked to the African Joint Air Services (AJAS) Accord which was signed in 1990 by Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, but the latter left in 1992 due to lack of funds. It began operations in July 1995 and operated a single Boeing 747SP leased from SAA, painted in the distinctive Alliance Air colour scheme.

Alliance Air had planned to serve Dar es Salaam, Dubai, Entebbe, Johannesburg, London and Mumbai. Flights to Rome would have been added at a later date. The launch of the airline sent shock waves to Kenya Airways, the dominant airline in the region.

It was renamed SA Alliance Air for a short while with an SA Alliance Express sister airline, as well as featuring a new logo based on the South African Airways flag inspired tail design. However this look was not applied to any aircraft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alliance Air (Uganda), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Destinations

During its lifetime, the airline served the following destinations:

Fleet

Alliance Air operated the following aircraft:

From Wikipedia’s article on Alliance Air (Uganda), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. Oct 2000Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1995Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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