Uganda: Entebbe Int'l Airport achieves monthly passenger record
Uganda's Entebbe International Airport continues to experience a surge in traffic. The airport recorded 100,455 international passengers in October 2021 - 45,799 arrivals and 54,656 departures, according to Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UGAA).
An average of 3,240 passengers per day used the tarmac of the country's main airport.
According to the UCAA, this is a monthly record since the reopening of the hub to commercial flights in October 2020. However, this is still well below the daily average of around 5,000 passengers in 2019 before the Covid-19.
Speaking to the press, Vianney M. Luggya, the UCAA spokesperson attributed the increase in traffic in October to improved vaccination worldwide, the commencement of flights to and from Entebbe by new operators such as Airlink from South Africa and Air Arabia from Sharjah. The start of Uganda Airlines flights to Dubai, the removal of Uganda from the UK's red list in early October and the easing of travel restrictions for Ugandans to Dubai, among others.
Counting the first nine months of the year, a total of 79,192 passengers (36,971 arrivals and 42,221 departures) used the facility in September and 71,360 passengers (33,941 arrivals and 37,419 departures) in August. This compares with 61,328 in July, 75,472 in June, 77,063 in May, 85,054 in April, 76,233 in March, 54,988 in February and 53,494 in January.
Cargo transport also followed the upward trend. In October, Uganda's main airport recorded 5,371 metric tonnes of cargo in October 2021 (2,243 imports and 3,128 exports).
