Entebbe International Airport handled 1,069,224 international passengers in the first half of the year 2024, indicating an increase of 226795 passengers in comparison to the same period last year
Updating the country on Tuesday, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority( UCAA) Director General, Fred Bamwesigye said of the 1,069,224, 527,692 were arriving and 541,532 were departing
“In specific terms, the airport recorded half year figures of 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,” Bamwesigye said.
He said in July, Entebbe International Airport recorded 182,494 international passengers, 92,379 arriving and 90,115 departing passengers, an average of 5,886 passengers per day.
Cargo grows
According to Bamwesigye the cargo volumes also shot up during the period under review.
“Cargo traffic 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,” the UCAA director general said.
The figures according to UCAA show that 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. 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.
He said the airport also recorded 15,223 aircraft movements in the first half of 2024 compared to 14,575 in the same period last year, reflecting a 4.4% growth.
During the same period this year, there were 12,359 overflights compared to 11,203 in the same period of 2023, reflecting a 10.3% growth.
According to UCAA, transit passengers were 53,559 in January to June 2024 compared to 57,469 in January to June 2023, reflecting a decline of -6.8%.
