Dozens turned away from Entebbe airport over the weekend

Entebbe, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Close to 50 people who traveled to meet or see off travelers at Entebbe International Airport over the weekend were turned away. It followed a statement issued by Uganda Civil Aviation Authority-UCAA on Saturday indicating only three people including the air bound passenger will be allowed to access the airport to avoid unnecessary crowding at the airport. 

At the time of reopening the airport on October 1st, 2020, UCAA said the people who travel to meet or see off travelers would not be allowed at the airport. However, two months after the resumption of commercial passenger flights the practice continued. They either dropped or picked up the daily average of 1, 500 passengers who have passed through Entebbe Airport since October to date. 

As a result, UCAA issued a statement on December 18th, saying passengers will be dropped or picked up by two people including the driver effective Saturday. The statement said vehicles with more than the authorised number of passengers will not be allowed to access the airport.

Our reporter visited the airport on Saturday and saw police officers manning the check point at the main entrance asking the excess passengers to alight from the vehicle and wait in the compound next to Mogas pump fuel station. The officers said they had turned away to 50 people ever since they started enforcing the new directive on Saturday. 

Some of those turned away spent time under trees to wait for their people. Our reporter found ten people including a woman and her daughter under a tree along the road side. Two of the people turned away including a foreign national, said that they were not aware of the new directive. 

They urged UCAA to publicize its notice on several media platforms so that the public is not taken by surprise.     

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