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By Robert Segawa
In a historic step for Uganda’s aviation and island transport network, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has unveiled the country’s first amphibious float plane an aircraft designed to take off on land and land directly on water, drastically cutting down travel time and providing emergency response services for island communities on Lake Victoria.
The launch took place at MAF’s Kajjansi Airfield on Tuesday, drawing representatives from the Dutch Embassy, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), the Ministry of Works and Transport, and several aviation experts.
MAF Country Director Sam Baguma said the float plane will transform life for thousands living on islands who currently spend days on risky boat journeys.
“If you leave Kampala for the farthest island, it takes between two and five days by boat depending on weather. With this plane, we can do the same journey in just 25 to 30 minutes,” Baguma said.
“People pay up to UGX 500,000 to hire a dugout canoe for just an hour. There is no way a seat on this plane will cost that much. We are determined to make it cheaper than the dangerous canoes people are using now.”
He added that MAF plans to begin with six island docks including Bukasa, Buyovu, Lingira and Buvuma as part of a proof-of-concept before scaling to the rest of the islands.
Government Endorses Innovation, Calls It ‘A Wake-Up Call’
State Minister for Transport Fred Byamukama, who officiated the launch, praised MAF for introducing what he termed as a technology “Ugandans thought was impossible”.
“When they told me a plane was coming to land on water, I said, stop telling lies. But here we are. This is not just transport—it is access to health, education and government services for over 300,000 people living on the islands,” he said.
“Government commits to supporting this. We are even working to improve roads leading to Kajjansi Airfield before this financial year ends.”
He added that the float plane also opens a new tourism frontier and offers alternative emergency landing options for aircraft operating inland.
Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s Director of Safety and Communication, Eng. Ronnie Barongo, described the project as “historic and transformative,” confirming that regulatory work was underway to allow full-scale water landings.
“This is the first time Uganda is registering an amphibious aircraft. It came with American registration but we have already started the process to issue it a Ugandan airworthiness certificate,” Barongo explained.
“We are mapping safe water aerodromes and benchmarking in Papua New Guinea to ensure safe water landings.”
How the Aircraft Works
MAF Head of Flight Operations Ryan Unger explained that the Cessna 208 Caravan float plane performs like a normal aircraft in the air but switches to water-landing mode on approach.
“It touches water at about 130–140 km/h and slows quickly due to water resistance. That slows us down safely but makes take-off longer—so we fitted a more powerful engine,” Unger said.
It carries nine passengers plus a pilot and a water operations assistant. It can also transport up to 875 kg of medical supplies or cargo, depending on fuel load.
