Entebbe International Airport experienced a significant surge in international passenger traffic, with a total of 185,253 passengers in July 2023.
This equates to an average of 5,975 passengers per day, marking the highest recorded traffic in a single month since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 185,253 registered, 93,727 travellers were arrivals and 91,526 departures.
These numbers indicate a return to normalcy in travel patterns as people resume their regular trips.
Vianney Luggya, the Public Affairs Manager of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), notes that this impressive improvement demonstrates the industry’s continued recovery from the impact of Covid-19.
The July 2023 figures represent a 24,338 passenger increase compared to June 2023, which recorded a total of 160,915 passengers.
Furthermore, it surpasses the passenger traffic for the same period in July 2022 (151,653) and July 2019 (166,980).
Regarding cargo, Entebbe Airport handled 5,745 metric tonnes of cargo in July 2023, consisting of 4,198 metric tonnes of arrivals and 1,547 metric tonnes of departures.
These cargo figures also exhibit growth compared to July 2022 and July 2019.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a severe impact on Uganda’s aviation industry, leading to a significant decline in passenger numbers.
During the peak of the pandemic, Entebbe Airport saw passenger traffic nearly drop to zero as borders were closed, except for cargo and UN planes.
Uganda Airlines had to ground its fleet as a result.
The recent increase in passenger traffic at Entebbe Airport signals a positive turnaround for the country’s aviation industry, which struggled under the weight of the pandemic.
This recovery is noteworthy, considering the global lockdowns enforced by governments worldwide to curb the spread of the virus.
According to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), only 54 million passengers traveled within Africa by air during the pandemic in 2020, compared to double that number in the previous year.
Airlines on the continent experienced a collective turnover reduction of approximately $8 billion.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) predicts that Africa’s aviation industry will fully recover from the effects of Covid-19 by 2024.
By July 2024, it is expected that Entebbe International Airport will expand its terminal capacity from the current 2 million passengers per year to a minimum of 3.5 million passengers per year.
Uganda is scheduled to undergo a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP-CMA) by the ICAO in September 2023, followed by the Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP) in 2024.
These audits assess the level of compliance of a state with ICAO’s safety-related standards and procedures.
Uganda has previously performed well in these audits, scoring above the global averages.
Although Uganda Airlines secured slots at London Heathrow Airport for departures and landings, it has not commenced operations to the United Kingdom due to delayed resolutions of issues raised in the previous ICAO audit.
Reports suggest that the outdated certification status of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has contributed to the delay in updating its certification from the ICAO.