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The Civil Aviation Authority, Entebbe on Tuesday 25^th September, 2018 rescued a group of twenty nine girls and one boy from being trafficked to Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi through Entebbe International Airport (EIA).

The Airport Aviation Security (AVSEC) with the help of the airline operators of Fly Dubai intercepted the group during the check in process at 7.00pm. The group that was being trafficked was handed over to the Aviation police in Entebbe for conclusion of investigations.

Many of the girls claimed that they were heading to various destinations through connections with their close relatives working in the Middle East. Each of the girls used private means to the airport and were destined to the same country. The racket secretly processed the passport and visas to lure the group with promises of lucrative pay in the Middle East.

The OC Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Detective AIP Norah Amito said that the girls are between the age of 20 to 30 years from the districts of Buikwe, Jinja, Isingiro, Kampala, Kamuli, Kayunga, Luwero, Lwengo Masaka, Nakaseke, Rakai, and Wakiso and had been sent e-tickets and visas on what’s App to work as domestic workers.

“At 7.00pm we received a call from Aviation Security that a total of twenty nine girls and one boy had been stopped from flying to some Middle East countries for work because they didn’t have the necessary documents authorizing them to travel for work apart from their tickets, visa and passports.  The check in agents for Fly Dubai FZ618 alerted the supervisor at immigration who cross checked the travel details of the girls and found them lacking”, she said.

“We have apprehended and recorded statements from the group and we have crucial leads to establish human traffickers involved in the syndicate.  All those apprehended were headed to the same country.  The names of the culprits cannot be disclosed pending police investigations”, Amito added.

The group was scheduled to be transported to the Immigration Headquarters in Kampala on Wednesday for counseling before letting them travel back to their homes.

The Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development has put stringent measures to ensure that Ugandans traveling abroad for work are not subjected to slave labour conditions in the disguise of being promised better paying jobs.

Uganda and Kenya have entered an agreement to work towards harmonizing the legal regimes of the two countries as a way of putting up a joint fight against human trafficking. The agreement was reached on July 31 during a meeting at Lwakhakha border in Namisindwa District in Uganda.

Several Ugandan girls and women believed to be victims of human trafficking, have since the start of this year been rescued or arrested by Kenyan authorities on their way to Middle East countries.

Two weeks ago, a total of 52 Ugandan suspected victims of trafficking were rescued in Busia, Malaba and at the Jomo Kenyata International Airport and handed over to the Ugandan authorities.

The Minister of the State Works, Hon. Gen. Katumba Wamala inspected on-going works for upgrade and expansion of Entebbe International Airport (EIA) with a team from the Joint Transport Sector Review and expressed satisfaction with the progress on Wednesday, 29 August, 2018.

Civil Aviation Authority officials led by the Managing Director, Dr. David Kakuba, guided the minister on a tour of the new departure immigration counters, passenger terminal building expansion works, Terminal Operations Control Center and new Cargo Center. He was also given updates on the progress and timelines.

“Entebbe International airport plays an important role in promoting tourism, trade and leisure travel. This is the best time to say positive things about our country because passenger experience is going to improve significantly with the upgrade of our airport,” Hon. Wamala said.

“This expansion project is at the heart of Government’s National Development Programme, which I believe is in tandem with the CAA 20 year Master Plan. I am particularly pleased to see Government’s commitment to making flying accessible for all through the introduction of the national carrier, which is coming at the right time when the airport is being expanded,” he added.

Dr. David Kakuba, who guided the Minister and his team during the tour said, “Departure Immigration counters have most recently been modified by China Nanjing International Limited to increase their number from six (6) to eleven (11). Two booths with four (4) counters and another booth with three (3) counters to accommodate a total of 11 Immigration Officers have been successfully installed. The queuing space, which was originally 101 square meters is now 209 square meters.”

Earlier on in 2017, the same contractor modified Arrivals Immigration counters and their number was increased from 14 to 20. This has since enhanced efficiency in service provision and drastically reduced on long queues at peak time. In the Arrivals Hall, one of the counters has been specifically dedicated to handling passengers with special needs, crew, business and first class passengers.

“Works for rehabilitation and strengthening of the old runway 12/30 commenced in May 2018 and are expected to be completed by the end of 2018. The works are undertaken by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), which is also handling the on-going construction of a new 100,000 tones capacity Cargo Centre, “ he said.

He added that 80% of works for the new Cargo Centre’s Aircraft Parking Apron had been accomplished, 35% of works for the Cargo Terminal building are complete, and 90% of works for the landside and Airside Access roads were accomplished. Expansion works for Aircraft Parking Apron 1 are at 70% and extension works for Taxiway Alpha are at 70% level of completion.  Runway 12/30 rehabilitation is at 30%.

Works for modification and expansion of the passenger terminal building are also on-going and are at 30% level of completion. They are being undertaken by Seyani Brothers (U) Ltd.

The visiting team was further informed that phase two of the expansion of the long term car parking was completed earlier on and it involved creation of additional capacity to park 140 cars to increase the total Long Term Car parking capacity from 260 to 410 cars. The work was undertaken by Energo Uganda Co. Ltd.

Air Traffic services management system and Air Traffic Control Radar were upgraded and this led to migration from use of manual to automated electronic strips. It also extended the ATC Radar’s serviceability lifespan by another ten years.

Aeronautical Information Management System at Entebbe International Airport was automated and this has enhanced efficiency through saving time, reduction in costs incurred by air operators and ability for pilots to file flight plans from anywhere using any web enabled device.

Improvement of air navigation services and automation of Entebbe International Airport by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as part of a USD 9.5 Million grant to Uganda from the Government of South Korea.

The Project involves:-

• Implementation of Air Traffic Services (ATS) Message Handling System
• A computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) and Airport Operational Database (AODB) system.
• Improvement of Flight Procedures efficiency through Air Traffic Management.

The three year project commenced in March 2016 and Uganda has on its part come up with counterpart funding of approximately USD 250,000 (per year) towards Implementation of the project that is expected to be fully delivered by the end of 2018.

A new Terminal Operations Control Centre has already been put in place at Entebbe International Airport and a training facility fully equipped at the CAA Head Office.

The Managing Director hinted on proposals to amend the CAA Act, which were developed and are before Parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee awaiting adoption by Parliament. “The proposed amendments are aimed at ensuring harmonization of Uganda’s regulations and practices with the universal practices across the globe. The current Act has been in place since 1991 and while it has ably guided the industry, a number of practices have since changed, which called for an update,” he added.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hosted a team from Entebbe Municipal Council’s Physical Planning Committee on Friday 17^th August, 2018 and the two parties agreed to comprehensively share details of on-going and future airport development plans.

In a fruitful meeting held at Entebbe International Airport (EIA), CAA’s Manager Aerodrome Engineering Planning and Development, Eng. Ronald Twesigye briefed the Committee team about the progress of works for Upgrade and Expansion of the airport, which are aimed at improving on efficiency and enhancing service delivery to meet the growing passenger traffic at EIA.

Key among the projects being implemented by CAA is expansion of the current Passenger Terminal Building, construction of a new 100,000 tones Cargo Centre, expansion of the Aircraft Parking Aprons, works on Taxiways, strengthening and rehabilitation of runway 12/30, and relocation of the fuel farm, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the visiting team, the Town Clerk of Entebbe Municipal Council (EMC), Mr. Charles Magumba encouraged CAA to regularly share its development plans with the Municipal Council to foster better planning for the municipality. He said that while the Council was aware of the expansion of the Passenger Terminal Building, they didn’t have details of the other on-going projects. The Municipal Council received a submission on the drawings of the cargo centre, the assessment was given to CAA, and the process is yet to be completed.

Mr. Magumba urged CAA to submit structural plans of all planned projects to the municipal council so that EMC is part of the airport planning processes.

The Municipal Engineer, Mr. Richard Male Mukasa applauded CAA on the on-going developments.

“Our visit is just to create rapport with CAA as a development partner. We need to know about the status of your projects so that we help you plan better,” he said.

After a tour of the on-going works on the Expansion of the Passenger Terminal Building, the two parties agreed to have regular coordination planning meetings about the current and future projects. Ends

Air Tanzania, resumed flights in and out of Entebbe International Airport (EIA) On 26^th August, 2018, and was welcomed with a water gun salute in a colorful ceremony spiced with traditional entertainment.

The Q400, 76 seater aircraft touched down at Entebbe at 1:10 pm and was received by the Minister of State (Transport), Hon. Aggrey Bagiire, officials from the Tanzania High Commission to Uganda, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s Ag Director Airports Aviation Security, Eng. Ayub Sooma, and other hailed industry stakeholders.

The Chief Guest, Hon. Bagiire hailed the decision by Air Tanzania to extend operations to Uganda as timely because of the rapidly growing aviation industry. He noted that this would ensure competitiveness in the region.

“Air transport is a key driver of development and has a big influence on tourism, agriculture and business. I would like to implore the management of Air Tanzania and all industry players to observe with strictness the minimum required standards as we strive to deliver reliable and quality air transport services. The launch of Air Tanzania means a lot to the future development of our two economies in the region,” he said.

The minister said that the Government of Uganda was highly committed and will continue to support and provide an enabling environment for the growth of the aviation industry in Uganda. Government is implementing a number of projects to upgrade and expand infrastructure and facilities at Entebbe International Airport and other aerodromes in the country as well developing a second international airport at Kabaale in Hoima to support the oil and gas sector.

The Tanzanian Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Hon. Isaac Aloyce Kamwelwe who led a delegation from Tanzania said that the resumption of Air Tanzania, services in Uganda will go a long way in meeting the travel demands of citizens in East Africa and will provide customers the ability to customize their travel to their needs.

Speaking on behalf of CAA, Eng Sooma said that the Authority was committed to support initiatives aimed to facilitate travel in and out of Uganda. He said that CAA had put emphasis on ensuring better passenger facilitation through addressing stakeholder needs and expectations for a memorable experience through Entebbe.

Air traffic at Entebbe Airport has recorded a steady passenger growth of 1.62 million international and transit passengers in 2017, up from 118,527 in 1991.  The Airport handled 69,000 metric tones of cargo in 2017 compared to 66,000 metric tons in 1991.

“We are increasingly modernizing facilities at the airport in order to meet future demands of existing and future potential operators as well as users of the facilities so as to enjoy a pleasant and memorable experience at Entebbe airport, ” he said.

The Tanzania national carrier commenced operations with a charge of $363 less for a return ticket and will fly four-times-a week to Entebbe from Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The airline has served a variety of domestic, regional and international destinations over the years and operates a fleet of 5 aircraft including a Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner.

Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) is based in Dar es Salaam with its hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport. It was established as Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC) in 1977 after the dissolution of the East African Airways and has been a member of the African Airlines Association since its inception.

Following an outbreak of Ebola in neighboring DRC, Uganda has taken major steps in preventing its possible spread.

“Health authorities at the international entry and exit point at Entebbe International Airport are ensuring that passengers originating from suspected areas and or who exhibit symptoms of the disease are screened and handled in a professional manner”, said Dr. James Eyul, Director Kazuri Medical Services based at the Airport.

An on-spot visit by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Director,  Dr. Redfield and a team from the US Embassy, led by H. E Ambassador Deborah Malac on Sunday 19^th August, 2018 confirmed Uganda’s readiness for the challenge.

American Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Deborah Malac (third right) with CAA’s Manager Management Accounting, Mrs. Molly Besigye (centre) and Dr. James Eyul (fourth left) with other embassy officials and staff of CAA at Entebbe International Airport.