Entebbe airport gets quality certification

Entebbe.

Entebbe International Airport and Civil Aviation Authority have received the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems (QMS) certificate making Uganda the third country in Africa after Ghana and Tanzania to receive the internationally recognised certification by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

CAA director of airports and aviation security John Kagoro, while addressing the press during the unveiling of the certificates at the airport last week, said: “After following compliance with stringent requirements by UKAS for airport operations, the ISO 9001:2008 certification implies that Entebbe Airport has systems and processes in place that meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while also meeting statutory and regulatory requirements” he said.

The ISO 9001:2008 certification means Uganda’s aviation industry has provision of aeronautical services within the Flight Information Region of Uganda to include regulation, licensing, air navigation services, search and rescue certification of air operators, operation and maintenance of aerodromes, security and corporate support services.

He added: “QMS certification will, among other things, boost the national airport business in cost cuts through improved systems and processes, increased passenger traffic loyalty, build internal confidence since the QMS is based on international standards that can be compared with any in the world, ensure proper documentation of processes, and factual approach to decision making and management commitment.”

Eng Kagoro said that other aerodromes in Gulu, Arua , Soroti, Mbarara, Tororo, Kisoro, Pakuba, Kasese, Jinja and Kidepo had each also been awarded ISO 9001:2008 QMS certificates.

On the ongoing airport expansion, Mr Kagoro said 42 housing units had been completed for the relocation of police officers families whose homes are to be demolished with the ongoing expansion and a new automated luggage handling system has been put in place.

“The new system is faster checking 1,800 bags per hour compared to the old one that had run down, and could only manage 400 to 500 bags on the hour, thus will ease passenger movement as they board and has an x-ray installed which will throw back any bag for further checking once it spots any danger.” he said.

On alleged corruption in the award and management of contracts for cleaning companies Guardian Services Ltd (GSL) and Clear Environment Cleaning Services Ltd (CECS) as well as poor toilet hygiene Entebbe international airport, Eng Kagoro disputed the IGG’s reports.

“Companies are required to have two sets of audited accounts for a year, one of the companies (Clear Environment) brought one set, if someone hasn’t attached them both you can tell them to send it, our evaluation team noted it and asked the company to bring the year that was missing but they (CAA evaluation team) forgot to include it in the minutes so this company found it difficult to prove to the IGG their legitimacy in attaining the contract,” he said.

He further said that the CAA evaluation team made a report and recommended clear environment company showing certificates of past completed works and they were awarded a tender, “it was simply an error” he said.

He further revealed that the two current cleaning company’s (Guardian Services Ltd (GSL) and Clear Environment Cleaning Services Ltd (CECS)” contracts had been extended for three months since the airport’s more than 300 toilet facilities couldn’t be left unattended to as the body begun a new procurement process of acquiring cleaning companies in an open tender.

“After we have reached well over 200 applications we take them to the solicitor general who is meant to oversee awarding of such contracts” he said.

Dirty toilets
Mr Vianney Luggya, the CAA manager public affairs, dismissed report which has since gone viral online that alludes Entebbe having the dirtiest airport toilets in the world saying it didn’t classify the level of cleanliness in relation to other airports in any way thus should not be misused to classify the cleanliness of Entebbe Airport toilets in relation to those of other airports.

“Entebbe International Airport has time and again subjected itself to Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality Survey Programmes under which volunteering airports are subjected to assessments through which airport users give feedback on the service quality relating various services facilities” he said.

Mr Vianney further said out of 2,300 ACI member airports, of which only 261 airports volunteered to participate in the 2016 survey, Entebbe International Airport was part of the 14 airports that participated from Africa.

“No Airport can volunteer to participate in such a survey when their services are wanting and contrary to social media reports one of the areas in which the airport has received positive feedback in the ACI surveys is in the area of cleanliness” he said.

He further pointed out that the report only pointed out a areas of weakness that were observed in some few places at the time of investigation and that these have been fully addressed with appropriate, corrective and preventive actions put in place to avoid recurrence of such” he said.