KAMPALA- Civil Aviation Authority has urged Air operators in Uganda to work with Uganda’s National Air Operator, Airlines to jointly stimulate international operations and make the aviation business profitable through networking.
The call was made by the chairman of the Board at Civil Aviation Authority Justice Stephen Kavuma as he presided over a public hearing this afternoon for applicants who have expressed interest in acquiring Air operators licensees to be able to operate in Uganda.
the public inquiry that comprised of the Board Air Services Licensing Committee of the civil aviation authority together with members of the public heard testimonies from applicants who newly want to operate in Uganda while others have applied for their licenses to be renewed.
According to civil aviation Authority,the transparent public hearing accords applicants for air services (new and those seeking renewal) an opportunity to present their case.
Members of the public with substantial ground to object the grant/renewal of the Air Services to the applicants always had an opportunity to lodge such objection in writing to the Authority, with a copy of the objection to the applicant concerned,how ever today’s applicants gave satisfactory reasons why they should be allowed to operate in Uganda which included promoting domestic flights internally in a bid to promote air transport in Uganda.
Uganda Civil Aviation Authority successfully completed two back-to-back international safety and security audits, the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) in September 2023 and the Universal Security Audit Programe (USAP) in Jan-February2024.
Uganda scored above the regional and global average in both audits, an indicator of compliance with the highest standards of safety and security.
Entebbe International Airport recorded a total of 226,795 more passengers in the first half of this year (January to June 2024) than was recorded in the same period of January to June 2023.
The airport recorded a total of 1,069, 224international passengers, 527, 692 arrivals and 541532 departures (Jan-June 2024)compared to a total of 842,429 (Jan-June 2023) which is an average of 5,886passengers per day.
The Corporation Secretary Civil Aviation Authority Ms. Mary Hellen Wenene says are efforts to extend the length of the runway from the current 1200 meters to 1800 meters.
“In future will have plans to extend the runway to 2300 meters after acquisition of land. There are technical proposals to develop the Gulu, Arua and Kidepo aerodromes to international airports before hosting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON)The statistics clearly indicate growth in the aviation industry, and we hope that you will continue to contribute towards that growth” she said .
She says that the new air traffic control systems and procedures in place at Entebbe International Airport have come with efficiency in landing and take-off.
“Aircraft can now fly smoothly to the preferred altitude without disruption by the Air Traffic Controller in a bid to separate them from other traffic, and the same applies when an aircraft is descending”.
