By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The Director Human Resources and Administration at Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), Ahmed Saba, has called on more female students to join the Aviation Industry saying the industry has less women compared to men.
She said because the authority wants to bridge the female gap in the Aviation Industry, it has partnered with Uganda Airlines and Air serv plus International partners to conduct the third edition of Career Guidance session where female students are exposed to different professions within the Aviation Industry.
Saba revealed that this year the authority invited over 100 girls from ten schools across the country and they were taken through the available opportunities in the Aviation Industry.
While presiding over the third edition of Girls in Aviation Industry Career session held at Entebbe International Airport on October 29, 2026, Ahmed Saba, the Director Human Resources and Administration at UCAA, urged girls not to be afraid of studying science subjects if they’re to achieve their dreams of joining the Aviation Industry in areas which require scientists.
Capt. Deborah Hecken, a pilot with American Airlines, urged young girls to join the Aviation Industry, so as to bridge the female gap in the Aviation sector.
The Director Marketing and Clientele Care at Air serv, Robinah Nalumu, noted because of the annual career guidance for Girls in the Aviation, there is significant increase in the number of girls joining the Aviation Industry.
The manager public Affairs at Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), Vianney Lugya, said exposing young girls to the Aviation Industry will help to increase the number of girls in the industry. He disclosed that authority has few girls in the technical professions.
Lugya also announced that the authority is taking action to reduce aviation emissions at Entebbe International Airport and working with the international Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop measures with global reach. On this note, he said the measures are intended to reduce carbon emissions to zero level.
He said among the measures the authority has developed include carbon off setting and reduction scheme, revealing that this year in July the authority submitted the first report of Uganda Airlines on carbon emissions to the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO).
Lugya said under the air navigation services still in the area of reducing Carbon emissions, the authority has also adopted free routing strategy-a new technology where an airline can fly from point A to B without going through previous protocols. He, however says the authority is in discussions with other regional stakeholders for it to be fully implemented.
Lugya further noted that the authority has adopted the use of global air navigation satellite systems, which encourage use of satellite technology by using the airspace adequately.
In similar news, Lugya revealed that there is a slight decline in commercial passengers, revealing that last month in September the Airport had 150,000 passengers both arriving and departing passengers . He attributed the decline to the ongoing developments related to disease outbreak and induced travel restrictions by UAE and Europe. On the side of cargo volume, last month in September cargo increased to 5900 metric tonnes which is a slight increase compared to cargo volume in August 2026.
