Each airline to bear own costs, says RwandAir boss
Passengers disembark from RwandAir flight RWD464 after it skidded off the runway upon landing at Entebbe International Airport from Nairobi on Wednesday early morning. PHOTO / COURTESY OF AIRPORT STAFF
What you need to know:
- Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, the country manager of RwandAir, Mr Ivan Mugisha, said they are already in the process of having their travellers booked onto available flights.
RwandAir has indicated that each airline with passengers whose flights were affected by the incident that happened on Wednesday will cover the compensation costs of their clients.
Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, the country manager of RwandAir, Mr Ivan Mugisha, said they are already in the process of having their travellers booked onto available flights.
“Each airline is taking care of clients but as RwandAir, we are already taking care of our passengers. We got them accommodation, meals and have started getting them on the next available flights,” Mr Mugisha said.
Regarding the cause of the mishap, he said: “The incident is still under investigation. However, it was attributed to the poor weather conditions but the aircraft has been moved and the runway opened.”
RwandAir flight RWD 464, which was landing at 5:31am from Nairobi, Kenya, with 60 passengers on Wednesday, skidded off the runway, according to airport authorities.
Disruptions
This left the runway temporarily sealed off as the alternate runway 12/30 was operational but only for small and light aircraft as efforts to clear the main runway were underway.
Several travellers were stranded as their flights got delayed or cancelled while others expressed disappointment on social media.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) spokesperson, Mr Vianney Luggya, declined to reveal who will bear costs of affected flights.
However, he said the incident is still under investigation, and therefore, the cause cannot be speculated.
But Mr Fred Bamwesigye, the director General of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), last evening said the incident was an accident, hence no need for compensation for any losses incurred. “This was an accident like any other, do you mean when you get involved in a road accident, UNRA (Uganda National Roads Authority compensates you?” Mr Bamwesigye asked.
“We are waiting for the comprehensive report, the chief of the incident and accident unit at the Ministry of Works and Transport was at the airport yesterday, so now we are waiting for a report from them,” Mr Luggya said.
Capt BABU weighs in on plane runway mishap
Captain Francis Babu yesterday ruled out poor markings and lighting at the airport as a major cause of the Wednesday incident where a RwandaAir passenger plane with about 60 people on board skidded off the runway while landing at the Entebbe International Airport.
Capt Babu told this newspaper that skidding depends on how a pilot lands an aeroplane when there is water on the runway.
“When you have water on the runway, you must hit the water on the ground firmly such that you break it (water). So you need an experienced pilot, but if you try to land the plane very smoothly, you get a wedge of water between the tyres and the plane and it doesn’t really sit on the runway because it then moves on top of water and can skid off the runway. It is called aquaplaning,” he said.
Capt Babu also noted that unless there is a technical glitch, skidding can easily be caused by a pilot while landing the aeroplane.
