The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has said it doesn’t have enough funds to support the development and improvement of upcountry aerodromes.
Uganda has 13 upcountry aerodromes managed by UCAA at Kisoro,Kasese,Pakuba,Moroto, Gulu, Arua, Lira,Masindi, Tororo,Mbarara, Kidepo, Soroti and Jinja but most, if not all are in a sorry state.
Speaking during a well attended stakeholders’ breakfast engagement at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Kampala where he gave an update on the aviation regulator’s performance for the year 2024, the UCAA Director General, Fred Bamwesigye ,said plans to have these upcountry aerodromes improved have been hindered by a lack of enough funding.
UCAA Board Chairman , Deputy Chief Justice (emeritus ) Stephen Kavuma, Works Minister Gen. Katumba Wamala, UCAA DG Fred Bamwesigye and Deputy DG Olive Birungi at the event
“Plans are there for developing upcountry aerodromes and we are capable of doing the feasibility studies and all other things have been made but when you see us struggling with aerodromes like Kisoro and Arua, we are doing it with money that would otherwise be deployed in the facility that made it. Even then we are not able to do it 100%,” Bamwesigye said.
UCAA DG took stock of the performance of Uganda’s aviation industry in the year 2024, and revealed that Entebbe International Airport handled 2.2 million passengers, an increase from the 1.9 million handled the previous year in 2023 while cargo volumes increased to 67,731 metric tons from 59,073 metric tons the previous year.
The number of domestic passengers was at 22,795. UCAA attributed the overall air traffic increase to commencement of Uganda Airlines flights on the Abuja, Lagos, and Mumbai routes, plus other new air operators joining the Ugandan airspace .
“The increased air traffic was also because of sustained promotion of tourism, resumption of international conferences, such as the NAM and G77+China Summit, among others, cargo traffic grew as a result of a stable economic environment and increased international trade,” Bamwesigye said.
He said Uganda is currently served by 18 international scheduled operators, 26 licensed operators and that in 2024, UCAA granted Air Services License (ASL) to 10 more operators .
“ New licenses were granted to seven operators, renewal licenses were granted to three operators,” Bamwesigye explained.
Another achievement recorded during the year under review was that in Jan- Feb 2024, Uganda underwent an ICAO audit to assess the effectiveness of its aviation security systems in meeting international standards and the country performed above both regional & global averages, which was a strong vote of confidence in Uganda’s aviation security system, according to Bamwesigye.
Commenting about the UCAA performance, the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala hailed the national aviation industry regulator ’s stellar performance in the Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA), an audit conducted by ICAO to evaluate the effectiveness of Uganda’s security systems in compliance with the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
The results indicated an overall improvement in the security performance of Uganda. “I congratulate UCAA and the entire nation’s aviation industry for the 81.6% score . The score is an outstanding performance in the universal security audit program. It reinforces the international community’s confidence in our aviation security systems but also provides a strong foundation for international airlines operating in and out of Entebbe International Airport,” Gen Katumba stated.
The minister underscored the importance the government of Uganda attaches to UCAA in its role to grow the country’s aviation sector which in turn provides direct international access and promotes other sectors of the economy.
Katumba assured the audience that government will continue supporting all efforts aimed at enhancing the vibrancy and effectiveness of the aviation sector.
On upcountry aerodromes, the minister said plans are underway to start developing them, and gave the example of Gulu International Airport whose development to ready it for the 2027 AFCON is in high gear.
