Passengers at Entebbe Airport increase by 27% in first half of 2024

Entebbe International Airport  recorded an increase in the number of passengers using the facility in the first half of 2024, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has said.

UCAA Director General, Fred Bamwesigye told journalists on Tuesday that Entebbe received 1,069,224 international passengers, 527,692 arriving and 541,532 departing passengers from January to June 2024 compared to a total of 842,429 in the same period of January to June 2023.

“In relation to traffic, Entebbe International Airport registered a strong performance in the first half of 2024, having 226,795 more passengers than was recorded in the same period of January to June 2023,” Bamwesigye said.

He said in July, which was  the last month of the period under review,  Entebbe Airport recorded a total of 182,494 international passengers, 92,379 arriving and 90,115 departing passengers, an average of 5,886 passengers per day.

In terms of cargo traffic, the airport also saw a significant boost, with a total of 32,794 metric tones recorded in January to June 2024, of which exports were 22,380 metric tones and 10,414 metric tones of imports compared to a total of 25,951 metric tones in January to June 2023.

“ Export cargo grew by 18.9%, while import cargo saw a remarkable 46.2% increase. Despite the growth trends, exports have generally remained higher than imports in the last four years.”

UCAA said in July, Entebbe recorded cargo traffic of 4,123 metric tonnes of exports and 1,618 metric tonnes of imports, a total of 5,741 metric tonnes compared to 5,745 metric tones in the previous year.

“It is good to see such strong growth in both passenger and cargo traffic. The numbers demonstrate the airport’s importance in fostering international travel, tourism and trade. We look forward to continuing to serve our passengers and customers with provision of world-class facilities and services,” Bamwesigye said.