Entebbe International Airport, Uganda’s primary gateway to the world, recently faced a potential flooding crisis when a heavy downpour struck on Saturday, April 6, 2024.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has announced significant developments at Entebbe International Airport, aimed at enhancing the passenger experience and addressing growing traffic.
Speaking at a press conference, UCAA Director General Fred Bamwesigye highlighted the completion of the modified terminal building, which opened on January 10, 2024, and has since facilitated delegates and passengers in a larger and more ambient environment.
“As you may all be aware, the Authority completed the Modified Terminal building and opened it to the public on January 10, 2024. The facility ably facilitated delegates to the NAM/G77+ China Summit and continues to facilitate arriving and departing passengers in a bigger and more ambient environment,” said Bamwesigye.
The airport has also seen the resurfacing of the car parking area, completed in March 2023, and the ongoing construction of a new 20,000 square meters terminal building, which is expected to be completed in 2024. This will increase the terminal capacity from 2 million to 3.5 million passengers per year, addressing the growing traffic.
“On completion of the new terminal building, whose works are expected to be completed in 2024, the terminal capacity will be enhanced from the previous maximum capacity of 2 million passengers a year to at least 3.5 million passengers. This is to address the growing traffic,” said Bamwesigye.
In March 2024, the airport handled 171,990 international passengers, an average of 5,548 passengers per day, with a notable increase in traffic over the past three months. The new facilities and ongoing projects aim to address this growth, with a focus on enhancing the passenger experience.
“For instance, in March, 2024, Entebbe International Airport handled 80,719 arriving and 91,271 departing passengers, a total of 171,990 international passengers, an average of 5,548 passengers per day. This comes on the heels of increased traffic, averaging over 6,000 passengers per month in the previous three months; specifically, 6,418 passengers per day were handled in December 2023, 6,329 per day in January 2024 and 6,116 passengers per day in February 2024,” said Bamwesigye.
Bamwesigye also addressed the recent heavy downpour on April 6, 2024, which caused temporary flooding in the car parking area. He clarified that the water drained within 30-45 minutes and emphasized that the existing structures at the airport were first put up in the 70s, with ongoing upgrades to the drainage system to accommodate new developments.
“It ought to be noted that earlier this month, Entebbe experienced a heavy downpour on Saturday, April 6, 2024, which overwhelmed the drainage system, causing backflow in some parts of the car parking area and the photos, unfortunately went viral, creating the wrong impression that the situation lasted for a big part of the day, yet the water drained within 30-45 minutes,” said Bamwesigye.
The public has been urged to bear with the temporary inconvenience as mitigation measures and projects are finalized for a better passenger experience. Additionally, Bamwesigye appealed to the public to be more patriotic and not share images that negatively impact tourism.
“Members of the public are also requested to be more patriotic and not pride in massively sharing images of that nature, which negatively impacts tourism,” said Bamwesigye.
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