As Uganda’s slowly wakes up from the slumber that it was forced into all thanks to Coronavirus / COVID-19, the government is careful not to trigger another wave of infections that will ultimately push the country back into a period of total lockdown something that will most probably crush our economy

When the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus/ COVID-19 as a global pandemic, the Ugandan government took drastic measures to ensure that the country didn’t suffer a heavy blow which would have been catastrophic to our health system and the general population. In order to avoid, a dome’s day situation which was shrouding over our heads, President Museveni ordered for the closure of the country’s single international airport to both incoming and out-going passenger flights on the 22nd of March 2020. He, however, allowed cargo and emergency flights to continue operations. Before the lockdown, Entebbe International Airport could handle between 90 to 120 flights daily.

This airport closure was soon followed by the president’s closure of all public gatherings like hotels, bars, beaches, shopping malls, closure of public transport, schools and places of worship, the imposition of night curfew and intensive public awareness campaigns that were to sensitize the masses what symptoms they were to watch out for, how to prevent the spread of the virus and how to handle a person whom they suspected to be infected with the virus.

All these drastic measures were aimed at allowing the government the critical time it needed to also slow down the rate of spread within the masses and also prepare the health system to be better handle the raging pandemic should there be a large outbreak.

Thanks to these and many other tough measures, Uganda has registered quite few cases and as of today, there’re 616 cases in Uganda with zero COVID-19 related deaths hence proving to all doubters of these measures that they have largely worked.

Given the current situation, the government has decided to slowly open up the economy so that Ugandan can get back to work in order to salvage the economy before it takes down turn into a bad recession or even worse depression.

One of the key sectors of the economy that the government wants to have reopened is the tourism sector which is one of the leading foreign exchange earners for the country that raked in close to 1.4 billion US dollars into the economy last financial year 2019-2020. However, the government is keen on ensuring that this doesn’t open doors to mass infection of people with the Coronavirus.

To prepare the country to welcome tourists back to this tropical pandora’s box, the management of the country’s single international airport at Entebbe has come up with new guidelines that have to be followed by both the new arrivals and the airport handling staff. The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), a government parastatal that is in charge of running Entebbe international airport has tightened travel measures at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport to combat the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic that has strained the world.

In a press briefing, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s manager Sooma said that the new airport procedures are in line with new guidelines issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Airports Council International and the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of airports reopening around the world.

The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority officials are working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health in Uganda, Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs to ensure Entebbe International Airport complies with the set guidelines.

New Passenger Guidelines at the Entebbe International Airport

Unlike before, departing passengers will now be expected to arrive at the airport at least four hours before boarding their departure planes. This is to enable travelers to go through the health port screening procedures.

Departing passengers will also be required to present a valid health certificate from the Ministry of Health Uganda or undergo a rapid COVID-19 test at the airport before departure.

According to Eng. Ayub Sooma, UCAA’s Director Airports and Aviation Security, all arriving and departing travelers will be expected to wear face masks at all times while at the airport & also exercise social distancing.

New Passenger Guidelines at the Entebbe International Airport

Unlike before, departing passengers will now be expected to arrive at the airport at least four hours before boarding their departure planes. This is to enable travelers to go through the health port screening procedures.

Departing passengers will also be required to present a valid health certificate from the Ministry of Health Uganda or undergo a rapid COVID-19 test at the airport before departure.

According to Eng. Ayub Sooma, UCAA’s Director Airports and Aviation Security, all arriving and departing travelers will be expected to wear face masks at all times while at the airport & also exercise social distancing.

New Entebbe International Airport Facility Changes

According to the new changes, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority is set to;

  • Provide more space for boarding lounges.
  • Install of automatic sensor non-touchable doors.
  • Put in place non-touchable water taps.
  • Electronic Boarding pass readers.
  • Automated document readers to limit excessive scanning of passports.
  • Three big marquees have already been established to ensure passengers observe the required physical distancing.

Entebbe International Airport COVID-19 Screening Procedures

Dr James Eyul, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s aviation medical specialist said that the health and immigration officers will be able to handle 100 passengers in the two tents for screening and processing of documents while samples will be collected from a maximum of ten passengers at the same time.

However, Dr Benson Tumwesigye, who led a delegation from the Ministry of Health to inspect the airport and assess the progress of the COVID-19 measures, advised the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority to improve on aeration inside the tents to avoid infection. He says the airport can only resume passenger flights when the Ministry of Health Uganda is satisfied that the precautionary measures are adhered to.