By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The management of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has agreed to partner with locals living near Entebbe International Airport to control bird hazards that could potentially lead to aircraft accidents.
The Director Airports and Aviation Security, Eng. Al-Hajj Ayub Sooma said that since Entebbe is a sanctuary of 1100 bird species, it is very crucial to involve community members in the fight against bird hazards.
Speaking to community members on Thursday 20th June, 2024 at UCAA Headquarters, Eng. Al-Hajj Ayub Sooma said fighting bird hazards requires collective efforts hence the need to involve the community.
“We need to work together to fight birds which may accidently collide with the aircraft hence damaging the engine which results in an accident.
Eng. Sooma challenged locals to control waste management saying wastes attract insects which in turn attract more birds.
‘We need to sensitize the community on how to manage waste. To have good health we must ensure a clean environment. It’s against this backdrop that management of Entebbe International Airport calls upon all community members to work together with UCAA in the fight against bird hazards and waste management.
The Mayor for Entebbe Division ‘B’, Richard Sekyondo promised to scale-up door to door sensitization campaigns in the fight against wastes which attract birds. He also expressed concern on the dire state of Buku road that connects the airport to Kigungu landing site.
‘We have developed the Weyonje program to ensure that people collect their own waste and later recycle it. This would enable us to keep our town clean and would attract potential tourists to reside within the hotels in Entebbe municipality.
‘I am also very concerned with Buku road that passes behind Entebbe International Airport. It’s a total disaster and during the dry season it’s dusty and when it rains, it turns muddy. I appeal to the management of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority to look into this burning issue, ‘mayor Sekyondo appealed.
In related news, the manager public affairs at Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Vianney Lugya Mpungu, has advised delegation of Muslims who plan to welcome their loved ones from pilgrimage starting today 21 June, 2024, to park their cars outside the airport facility and that only cars with stickers will be allowed inside the airport.
“We appeal to the departing passengers to be at the airport 3hours prior to their scheduled departing time. In most cases the number of people who welcome pilgrims is usually bigger as it has been previously. We request the pilgrims to liaise with the organizers of Uganda Bureau of Hajj affairs.’
‘ Only vehicles with stickers shall be permitted to access the airport facility to receive the returning pilgrims while the big delegations have been diverted to wait for their people outside the airport at civil aviation authority playgrounds and also the car parking area has been set aside for those waiting for dear ones. This is intended to avoid inconveniencing other airport users at the same time to allow those receiving their loved ones to enjoy themselves.’
On the issue of traffic flow at the airport Mr. Lugya said:
“In terms of passenger flow in May we recorded 92000 departing passengers and 89000 arriving passengers totaling 181,000 international passengers an average of 5000 passengers per day. On the side of cargo we registered 2000 metric tons of imports and 4000 metric tons of exports totaling 6000 metric tons. This is slightly higher than the previous months from January-April with an average of 5000 metric tons.’
