Entebbe airport registers 7.5% increase in traffic

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There is 7.5 percent increase in the number of travelers entering Uganda through Entebbe International Airport, the Public Affairs Manager Civil Aviation Authority-CAA, Vianney Luggya has revealed.

Statistics from the airport show that Uganda received 1,620,000 passengers in 2017. However, Entebbe International Airport registered 130,099 passengers by the end of October 2018 more than the number registered in 2017.

Luggya attributes the increase in the number of travelers to the country on improved marketing of tourism sites and increasing number of foreigners who want to invest in Uganda.

The performance report from the Uganda Tourism Board reveals that Uganda registered 1.32 million tourist arrivals in 2017 through the gazetted border posts, 90% of whom used Entebbe international airport. This is an increase of 4.1% from 2016.

Luggya says the increase in passenger traffic was projected under the National 5-year master plan, which later led to the expansion of the airport its handling facilities.

Currently, Entebbe International Airport is registering an influx of people getting into the country for the Christmas holiday. Well as Luggya couldn’t readily avail the average number of people who enter the country, it takes one more than 10 minutes at the arrivals to clear their travel documents.

Carol Physeal, a French traveler expressed dissatisfaction on the limited number of officials handling people getting into the country. “I personally wasted about 20 minutes,” she said.

Luggya said they had received the complaints resulting from increased scanning of cargo brought in by people entering the country.

He however, says the scanning is done by the URA customs department and security agencies at the airport to ensure there is no tax evasion.

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