ARE YOU TRAVELLING? What to expect at Entebbe Airport
Cars stuck in traffic jam along Entebbe airport road.
What you need to know:
Once you have followed all this to the counter, nothing will stand between you and your flight, enjoy your flight and see you soon
ENTEBBE:
With expansion works under way at Entebbe international airport and increased traffic along the Kampala - Entebbe road, if you intend to travel using the airport you need to plan your movement prior to the check in time for your flight. And here are a few tips you may need to follow.
Along the road
Cars stuck in traffic jam along airport road. You may need to start your journey early enough to survive such jam. Photo by Paul Adude.
Depending on the time of the day, traffic along the way is most of the time heavy and it will take you an extra 1 or 2 hours more than you expected.
During work hours till 3pm, the journey to the airport will take you a minimum comfortable drive of 45mins to 1 hr from the city centre since there is minimal traffic.
Rush hours (4pm to 9pm) as people leave work, the stretch from the city centre to Zana roundabout, a distance which normally takes 15 minutes to reach will take you between 1 and 2 hours.
It is not until you pass Kajansi that you will enjoy a comfortable speed to the airport if nothing else happens along the way.
At the airport
The make shift check in point is always crowded in the afternoons and evenings. Photo by Paul Adude.
At the airport entrance, a security check that normally takes about 3mins is carried out by the airport police but due to the ongoing works, this might take you longer in the afternoon when the airport handles more traffic.
On a few occasions, there is an impromptu shift on the check point, in most cases when a VIP is leaving or visiting the country or when the president is flying out or in, the check point will be brought closer to Spenah Beach, causing so much traffic- here you will lose between 30mins to an hour.
On normal days, from 1pm to 4 pm, you will wait for between 5 to 10 minutes waiting to be checked.
After the security check and picking your luggage you will head up to the departure area where a tent has been set up to act as the check in area until the expansion of the airport is complete.
During rush hours, the tent area is crowded and hard to navigate; hence coming earlier is to your advantage. It is at the tent area that you will find a health official (in case your yellow fever card is needed, however it is advisable to have it on you always).
A total of 26 clearing counters have been set up with in the same place, 22 for all passengers and 4 counters specified for the United Nations (UN).
Once you have followed all this to the counter, nothing will stand between you and your flight, enjoy your flight and see you soon.
