By eastafrican gazette
As Muslims get ready to undertake their pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has issued a travel advisory, due to the anticipated increase of pilgrims.
The authority has stated that more than 1,600 pilgrims are anticipated to travel to Mecca this year, an increase from last year’s 1,300, which may result in congestion at the airport.
Vianne Luggya, the public affairs and communication manager at the CAA, clarified that a specific area has been designated in the general car parking for the convergence of a large number of passengers where they will gather in a tent for a briefing before boarding the aircraft.
Measures have been also been put in place in collaboration with Uganda Bureau of Hajj Affairs (UBHA) to distribute stickers to the pilgrims embarking on their journey, and only vehicles displaying stickers will be permitted to continue past the park on the airport road to alleviate traffic congestion. Pilgrims from various regions are set to journey from June 1-7 via Entebbe airport to Mecca for Hajj.
The departing passengers have been urged to allocate extra time in order to avoid missing their flights due to the anticipated surge in passenger numbers.
Pilgrims are anticipated to travel via a range of airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, Fly Dubai, Emirates, Uganda Airlines, and others.
In the month of April 2024, Entebbe International Airport successfully catered to a total of 164,705 international passengers, averaging at 5,313 passengers per day.
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