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Uganda is seeking to upgrade a series of up-country airstrips to handle international flights, as well as boosting tourism to the country’s national parks.

International air passengers will be able to fly direct to several of Uganda’s national parks and protected areas, if a government scheme comes to fruition.

Up-country airfields at Kasese, Kidepo, Pakuba and Kisoro are planned to receive an upgrade to international standards that will allow travellers to fly in to nearby attractions. The project will allow passengers to avoid travelling via the country’s busy Entebbe International Airport, near the capital, Kampala, then having to transfer, either by light aircraft or surface transport, to resort areas.

According to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Kasese airfield, together with another at Arua, are slated for development to category 4C airports that would allow them to handle aircraft of the size of a Boeing 737–500.

The -500 was the smallest of the second-generation models of the Boeing twin jet and typically can carry a maximum of around 130 passengers in an all-economy cabin configuration – perhaps 100-110 in a two-class layout.

However, this is also the size category for the new ranges of ‘crossover’ jets such as the Embraer 190 and Airbus 220 that span the gap between regional turboprops and mainline narrowbodies like the Airbus A320 and larger members of the Boeing 737 family. These are becoming increasingly popular with airlines in Africa.

The CAA told African Aerospace that master plan and preliminary engineering designs for airfields at Arua and Gulu have been completed. These provide for a paved runway of 3,200m x 60m for Arua in place of the existing gravel strip, plus new terminal complex and cargo centre costing around $53 million.

Gulu, meanwhile, will see a major expansion, including the construction of a new 3,100m x 60m runway, as well as a new passenger terminal, taxiways, apron, cargo complex, control tower and fire station. The first phase of this project is estimated to cost $56 million.

Kasese will have its existing 1,500m grass runway replaced by a paved runway 2,500m x 45m. Like Gulu, it will undergo a transformation, with a new passenger terminal complex, together with cargo and fuel facilities and a new taxiway system. Cost for the first phase of the project will be $57 million.

Smaller-scale improvements will take place at eight other airstrips – Pakuba, Kisoro, Kidepo, Jinja, Tororo, Moroto, Soroti and Mbarara. The value of the works there range from $7m to $350,000 and include such improvements as runway repairs, improvements or extensions, perimeter fencing and, in the case of Pakuba, a new passenger terminal.

Like Kasese, Kidepo, Pakuba and Kisoro will be given tarmacked runways and provided with immigration facilities, allowing international flights to fly there directly and give tourists access to nearby national parks.

Uganda’s minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities, Tom Butime, announced the upgrades earlier this year at the Uganda Tourism Board’s “Pearl of Africa” tourism expo.

Previously, the only airstrips at Kasese, Kidepo, PakubaandKisoro National Parks were bush airstrips, which meant that visitors had to enter Uganda via Entebbe and then find alternative transportation such as a Cessna Caravan light aircraft or to travel by road to visit the locations.

The upgraded airstrips will not only be able to handle much larger aircraft, but also executive jets, allowing wealthy visitors to fly in with friends or family. Tourism is a significant revenue-earner for Uganda and accounted for around 7% of the country’s GDP last year.

Uganda received slightly more than 800,000 foreign tourists last year, a 59% increase over 2021’s figures, but still significantly below pre-pandemic levels of almost 1.5 million. Tourism brought in $712 million, accounting for around 12% of total exports.

It is in the light of increasing this valuable trade that the airfield improvements can be seen.

Adopted from: The Times Aerospace November 17, 2023

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) on Thursday conducted a full-scale exercise to test the staff’s readiness to respond to a bomb threat at Entebbe International Airport.

The exercise simulated a situation involving flight No. AF 347, with 40 passengers and three crew members on board. The flight notified Air Traffic Control of a bomb threat note discovered by a member of the crew in the aircraft lavatories, as the aircraft was taxiing for take-off.

Airline operators, ground handling agents, joint security operatives, United Nations, UCAA staff, health personnel, and other government agencies, were notified and involved in accordance with a contingency plan.  A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was also issued to operators of commercial flights in and out of Entebbe alerting them about the exercise from 2:00-4:00 pm.

The exercise was last conducted in November 2019.

Addressing journalists at the close of the exercise, UCAA Director General Fred Bamwesigye said the exercise is a requirement for all International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) member countries to test readiness to respond in case of a real incident.

Bamwesigye also said that apart from testing readiness, it also acted as a learning exercise where a post-exercise evaluation would look at the gaps for all affected staff to improve their performance.

Last month the ICAO evaluation team visited Uganda and concluded an audit in which the country’s aviation system was scored at 72.17%, indicating overall improvement in safety, according to the government.  The mark was above the African average of 55.66% and the global average of 67.68%.

Adopted from: The Independent October 27, 2023

Entebbe International Airport will be able to manage 3.5 million passengers per year by 2024.

Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Director General, Mr. Fred Bamwesigye, made the revelation on Thursday while addressing the Parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure. The Committee was on a visit to the Airport.

Entebbe Airport is currently undergoing various developments with huge progress registered so far.

Uganda recently underwent a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP-CMA), an on-site audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from September 6–18, 2023. The international audit was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of Uganda’s safety oversight systems in compliance with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

Besides the main project for upgrade and expansion of EIA, some of the recent developments at Entebbe International Airport include the following, among others; Automation and Modernization of Entebbe International Airport, a USD 9.5 million project implemented in conjunction with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and commissioned in September 2022, leading to; An Airport Operations Data Base (AODB); Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS); Terminal Operations Control Center (TOCC); ATS Message Handling System (AMHS), centered at EIA and distributed to Arua, Gulu, Soroti, Kasese, Kisoro and Mbarara; Flight Information Display Screens (FIDs), CCTV, and various system support components and improvement of ATM Procedures, including optimization of arrival approach and departure and en-route procedures.

While briefing his guests on the progress of the airport expansion, Mr. Bamwesigye said that as part of the re-modification of the current passenger terminal building, the expansion of the departures area was completed and part of it is already in use, awaiting the opening of the major entrance to the building, so that departing passengers are dropped-off by the entrance to the terminal building later this year.

“An arrivals component of the project is also being worked on to create more room and ambience for departing passengers. On completion of all the above infrastructural upgrade projects, terminal building capacity will be enhanced from the current capacity of 2 million passengers a year to at least 3.5 million passengers by July 2024,” Mr. Bamwesigye said.

He added that passenger traffic through Entebbe International Airport has been growing steadily, as the airport recovers from the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the aviation industry.

In September 2023, for instance, Entebbe recorded 80,701 arriving passengers and 90,605 departing passengers, a total of 171,306 passengers, which is an average of 5,710 per day.

The total number of passengers facilitated from January to September 2023 is 1,390,495 compared to 1,170,744 in 2019. In 2022, the total number of passengers was 1,574,405 compared to 1.8 million international passengers in 2019, before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. This represents an 87% level of recovery.

In September 2023, the airport handled 1,617 imports and 3,313 exports, a total of 4,930 metric tons in one month.

“UCAA is currently undertaking a review of the Entebbe International Airport Master Plan, and I am sure that the process will benefit from your expertise,” the DG said.

According to Mr. Bamwesigye, UCAA is scheduled to undergo the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Programme (USAP – CMA) scheduled in January 2024. The objective of the USAP-CMA is to evaluate the effectiveness of Uganda’s security systems in compliance with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

“We shall require all the support from the Committee as we undertake this exercise,” Mr. Bamwesigye said, adding that: Uganda is also scheduled to host the NAM and G77 + China summit in January 2024 and EIA is fully expected to play a leading role.

The DG commended the Parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure for the visit.

Adopted from: Chimp Reports October 26, 2023