Travelers stranded after closure of Entebbe international Airport runway
Several passengers have been left stranded at Entebbe International Airport following delay or cancellation of their flights after the main runway (17/35) was closed Wednesday evening. PHOTO/ IVAN KAMANA WALUNYOLO
Several travelers have been left stranded at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda following delay or cancellation of their flights after the main runway (17/35) was closed Wednesday evening.
This follows an incident in which RwandAir plane skidded off the runway at Entebbe airport in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
“Owing to safety precautions, Entebbe International Airport's runway 17/35, which was earlier on reopened for operations has been temporarily closed. Arrangements had been put in place for flights to land and take-off with precautions but during the process of removal of the Rwanda Air aircraft from the runway strip, it got stuck closer to the runway, which called for a review of the previous clearance. Efforts are on-going to resolve this as soon as possible. The public will soon be updated of developments,” Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) spokesperson, Mr Vianney Luggya said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
READ: African airlines ‘lost a whopping $10bn to Covid-19’
The statement followed several complaints from intending travelers who had been stranded at Uganda’s main airport for hours after their flights were either delayed or cancelled due to the 5:31 RwandAir incident.
A RwandAir passenger plane carrying over people skidded off the runway Wednesday morning while landing at Entebbe international airport but the passengers and the crew disembarked safely.
The RwandAir flight RWD 464 from Nairobi was landing at the airport at 5:31am when it overshoot the runway according to airport authorities in both Uganda and the neighboring Rwanda.
While investigations are ongoing to establish the cause, sources at the airport blamed poor markings on the new runway and poor visibility instigated by the morning downpour.
RwandAir confirmed the incident and said all passengers and crew members were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.
"RwandAir can confirm that flight WB464 was involved in an incident at 05:31 this morning, which led to the aircraft veering off the runway upon landing into Entebbe during adverse weather. All customers and crew were evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported. The situation is under control and RwandAir are in contact with all affected customers. The aircraft is currently being recovered, so Entebbe’s runway can return to use,” Rwanda’s national carrier said in a statement.
According to the carrier, their Flight Crew are highly trained for all eventualities, including flying in adverse weather conditions.
"We are working closely with the local authorities, including the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority, who will investigate the circumstances around the incident. The safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority,” the Wednesday statement adds.
Uganda's Civil Aviation Authority said the second (alternate) runway 12/30 was operational for small and light aircraft as they try to clear the main one.
"All efforts are underway to remove the aircraft from the runway strip so that the main runway can return to full use," the aviation authority said in a statement.
Hours later, authorities in Uganda said the runway had been opened and flights cleared to resume.
Moments later, the same aviation authority apologised for the unforeseen challenges that had prompted the inevitable closure of the runway.
"Sincere apologies. We had cleared flights to resume in the evening then an unforeseen challenge arose later in the night, which prompted an inevitable closure of the runway. That challenge is almost being resolved. An update will be shared as soon as it is sorted," Mr Luggya said in a Wednesday evening statement.
This is not the first time a plane skidded off the runway. On January 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines (Boeing 737-800) carrying 139 people skidded off the runway when it landed at 12:41 am.
