Entebbe International Airport (IATA:EBB,ICAO:HUEN) is the onlyinternational airport inUganda. It is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the town ofEntebbe, on the northern shores ofLake Victoria.[5] This is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) by road south-west of the central business district ofKampala, the capital city of Uganda.[6]
The airport was opened by the British Colonial authorities. According to the website of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, due to the airport's location onLake Victoria and the existing facilities, the colonial government decided that the most optimal location for aviation traffic was Entebbe.[8]
On 10 November 1951, the airport was formally reopened after its facilities had been extended. Runway 12/30 was now 9,900 feet (3,000 m), in preparation for services by thede Havilland Comet.[9] The new main terminal building of the airport was designed byYugoslavMontenegrin architect Aleksandar Keković and built byEnergoprojekt holding in 1972-1973 period.[1]
The Old Entebbe airport is used by Uganda's military forces. It was the scene of a hostage rescue operation by IsraeliSayeret Matkal, dubbedOperation Entebbe, in 1976 after an Arab-German hijacking ofAir France Flight 139 following a stopover inAthens,Greece, en route to Paris fromTel Aviv. The scene of that rescue was the old terminal, which has been demolished, except for its control tower and airport hall. According to a 2006 published report, plans were made to construct a domestic passenger terminal at the site of the old airport.[10] The airport was partially destroyed in April 1979 when itwas captured by Tanzanian forces during theUganda–Tanzania War.[11]
According toThePrint in November 2021, reports in African media suggest that China could take over the airport over the default of a loan, which was denied by China's foreign ministry and Government of Uganda.[12]Bloomberg News reported that the Ugandan government is seeking to amend a $200m loan agreement it signed with theExport-Import Bank of China in 2015, to ensure it doesn't lose control of the airport, citing a report from theDaily Monitor, an independent Ugandan daily newspaper.[13] On 1 December 2021, the Attorney General of Uganda stated they had seen the story regarding the airport in media and that it was reportedly fake news.[14]
Modernizing and improving existing passenger terminal building.[19][21]Entebbe Airport in 1994Entebbe Airport in 2009
Renovation and rehabilitation of "Runway 12/30" (the main runway), is expected to conclude in February 2019.[22]
In March 2022, online and print media reported that the Chinese-built cargo center, capable of handling 100,000 metric tonnes of cargo, had begun commercial operations. This had replaced the old cargo facility with capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes, originally converted from an old aircraft hangar.[23][24] It is expected that later in 2024, upon completion of the ongoing Phase I upgrades, the airport will increase its passenger-handling capacity from 2 million to 3.5 million annually.[25][26]
Relocation and expansion of fuel storage facilities.[19]
In July 2024, theNile Post reported thatTristar Energy Limited, anaviation fuel supply-company, based in theUnited Arab Emirates and active in 31 countries, had completed the construction of underground storage tanks with storage capacity of 12,000,000 litres (12,000 m3) of aviation fuel and pipelines measuring 7 kilometres (4 mi), which were ready forcommercial commissioning. Over the next five years, the capacity of the underground storage tanks is expected to be expanded by another 11,000,000 liters (11,000 m3). As of 2029, the aviation fuel storage capacity at this airport is planned to be 23,000,000 liters (23,000 m3). Construction of the fuel storage tanks has been ongoing since 2017.[27]
In April 2016, Minister of WorksJohn Byabagambi launched a USh 42.6 billion (US$11.4 million) project to expand the departure and arrival lounges. The work will be carried out by Seyani Brothers Limited and will be fully funded by theCivil Aviation Authority of Uganda. Construction is scheduled to commence on 1 June 2016 with completion expected in December 2017. This work is separate from the large expansion partially funded by the government of South Korea and People's Republic of China.[29]
Since 2002, international passenger traffic at the airport has increased annually, except for 2009 when theGreat Recession caused a small decline and 2014.[73][74] During the period between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2024, EBB handled a total of 1,069,224 international passengers (527,692 arrivals and 541,532 departures). During the same period the airport handled 32,794 metric tones of cargo of which 22,380 metric tones were exports and 10,414 metric tones were imports.[75][76]
Several Ugandan local and international media reports claimed that Uganda would lose the grip on Entebbe International Airport to China for failing to repay the loan it borrowed from China.[87][88] However, Ugandan officials denied claims regarding the possibility of China taking control of the airport.[89][90]Exim Bank of China had imposed strict and aggressive repayment terms on a US$200 million loan to expand Uganda's only international airport.[91]
On 14 April 2021, theSriLankan Airlines in its official Twitter handle claimed that Sri Lankan cargo had made history by operating three successive cargocharter flights to Entebbe International Airport, uplifting over 102 metric tonnes of printed papers in February 2021.[92] The information on what kind of printed paper was transported was not revealed by SriLankan Airlines due to confidentiality reasons. However, thecargo carrier deleted the tweet for unknown reasons and it created doubts about the transparency of SriLankan Airlines and speculations arose about the transfer of "printed papers" cargo charter flights which departed to Uganda in February 2021.[93] SriLankan Airlines later issued a statement clarifying that the printed material which was deported to Uganda included only the Ugandan currency notes and it further revealed that due to security reasons with bordering Kenya,Ugandan government preferred to obtain printedUgandan shilling currency notes from a global security printer.[94][95] TheBiyagama branch of theDe La Rue company is responsible for printing currency notes to countries including Uganda.[96] SriLankan Airlines insisted that theconsignment was purely commercial in nature and brought much needed foreign revenue for the airlines and Sri Lanka.[97]
On 9 March 2009, anAeroliftIlyushin Il-76,registered as S9-SAB, crashed intoLake Victoria just after takeoff from Entebbe airport. Two of the engines caught fire on take-off and the resulting crash resulted in the deaths of all 11 people on board. The aircraft had been chartered by Dynacorp on behalf of theAfrican Union Mission to Somalia. The accident was investigated by Uganda's Ministry of Transport, which concluded that all four engines were time-expired and that Aerolift's claim that maintenance had been performed to extend their service life or that the work had been certified could not be substantiated.[99]
On 14 March 2018, an Emirates flight attendant opened a door on board anEmirates parked plane and committed suicide by jumping. The plane was due to fly to Dubai. She was a 47-year-old Bulgarian citizen.[100][101]
^Movietone (10 December 1951)."Africa's Largest Airport"(Archived from the Original). Movietone.com.Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved10 June 2018.
^Kiwanuka, Kiryowa (December 2021)."Entebbe Airport contract with China okay, says Kiryowa". Office of the Attorney General.www.parliament.go.ug/ (Press Release). Kampala, Uganda:Parliament of Uganda. Gov't. of Uganda. Retrieved11 December 2021.According to Kiryowa, the talk of a takeover of the airport is false, wrong, and inconceivable since Uganda has not yet started paying the loan but is still in the grace period. "This contract was signed on 31st March 2015, with a grace period of seven years, the first repayment date is 1st April 2022. Government cannot be in default during the grace period," Kiryowa said. On the arbitration process that reportedly favors China, Kiryowa said if Uganda's rights are violated in the contract, Uganda can defend itself in any part of the world and it doesn't matter if it is in China.
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