Uganda Airlines (UR, Entebbe) has declined to comment on a confidential audit report that has reportedly uncovered USD9.2 million irregular passenger service fees that auditors say may have been misappropriated, alongside revelations that two travel agencies tied to a senior executive controlled more than 90% of the carrier’s cheapest ticket sales.

According to Ugandan newspaper ChimpReports, the findings are contained in the Auditor-General's "Special Audit Report on Revenue Management and Accounting and Aviation Fuel Management at Uganda National Airlines Company Limited for the Financial Years 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024".

According to ch-aviation research, chief whip Hamson Obua tabled the special audit in the Ugandan parliament on July 31. It was not discussed but referred to a "specialised investigative agency of the government, given the technicality and the sensitivity of the aviation aspects," a Hansard entry reveals.

A Ugandan Airlines spokeswoman said she had no comment on the audit and was not aware of the process at that moment.

ch-aviation has not seen the report, which, according to ChimpReports, found that staff at multiple airline offices and general sales agents (GSAs) charged a USD30 walk-in ticketing fee for a whole year after it was officially scrapped on July 1, 2023. The fees, collected at stations including Entebbe, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, Juba, Kilimanjaro, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, were not reflected in the airline’s accounts.

"There was no evidence of these service fee collections being banked," the Auditor-General said, raising concerns about possible misappropriation. He also flagged weak governance, noting the fee’s removal lacked formal board approval and compliance monitoring.

In a separate finding, the report identified a conflict of interest involving the airline’s executive in charge of fares and distribution. Auditors said two agencies linked to her husband sold more than 13,000 discounted tickets worth UGX9.8 billion shillings (USD2.8 million) between 2021 and 2024, cornering more than 92% of the carrier’s lowest fare category. The manager failed to declare the relationship, auditors said, breaching company policy.

According to ChimpReports, Uganda Airlines' management defended both issues, saying the disputed fees may relate to reissued tickets and that discounted fares were sold transparently through global distribution systems (GDSs). Still, it admitted gaps in oversight and pledged to introduce conflict-of-interest declarations.