Uganda Airlines has once again found itself in the spotlight after a damning audit revealed that billions of shillings were fraudulently refunded for tickets that had already been used by passengers.
According to the Auditor General’s special report, a total of USD 919,927 (about Shs 3.5 billion) was irregularly paid out as refunds to travel agents and customers for tickets that had already been utilised.
The refunds were approved and processed despite the airline’s own records showing that the passengers had flown.
The audit found that refunds were issued without any proper checks against the Passenger Name Record (PNR) system or airline flight records.
In some cases, customers who had flown multiple times on the same ticket managed to get full refunds. In other instances, travel agents colluded with insiders to process refunds for tickets long after flights had been completed.
Over the four-year review period, the report flagged consistent abuse of the refund system, noting that “controls within the revenue department were so weak that money was paid out with little to no verification.”
By failing to reconcile refund requests against flown data, Uganda Airlines effectively opened a loophole for systematic misappropriation.
Even more worrying, the auditors noted that some refunds were disguised as tax reversals or service fee adjustments, making it difficult to track the exact losses until a forensic review was conducted.
The pattern suggests a deliberate scheme rather than mere oversight.
The management of Uganda Airlines, in its defence, claimed that some refunds were processed as part of “customer care” to retain goodwill in a competitive market.
However, the audit team dismissed this reasoning, insisting that “no justification can exist for refunding tickets that have already been fully utilised.”
This revelation adds to the growing list of scandals facing the national carrier, which has already been faulted for undocumented fuel payments, ghost invoices, and irregular commissions to agents.
The refund fraud, amounting to nearly Shs 3.5 billion, underscores how porous revenue management systems have been, creating fertile ground for abuse.
Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) is expected to summon airline bosses over the findings, with calls already growing for prosecutions of staff and agents implicated in the racket.
For a national carrier still reliant on taxpayer bailouts to stay afloat, the exposure of Shs 3.5 billion in bogus refunds is another heavy blow to public trust.
Unless sweeping reforms are made, critics warn, Uganda Airlines risks becoming better known for scandal than for service.
When contacted for a comment on the report on Thursday, Shakira Rahim Lamar, the Airlines’ publicist said she would revert.