Over 500 got an opportunity to fly for the first time during the three-day Uganda aviation expo that intended to sensitize Ugandans about the country’s aviation sector.
The 2023 edition reached a successful climax on Saturday 24th June after attracting more than 15000 members of the public.
During the closing ceremony, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala the Works and Transport Minister appreciated the organizers for the initiative that he said has created memories for many but also aimed at improving the aviation sector.
“The expo has allowed the public to see how wide the sector is, to know that there are so many areas in the aviation industry not only pilots because none of them knew about air traffic control, engineers or cabin crew and other areas the aviation industry brings into play,” he said.
Gen Katumba also called upon the local investors to take advantage of the great opportunities in Uganda’s Internal flights.
“Let’s patronize our aviation sector because the more we promote it the more we can promote one of our highest earners of income in the country, tourism. Therefore I encourage those with good monies to invest in internal flights so that our high-end tourists who do not want to be on the road for so many hours are treated in a better way as far as saving time and resources is concerned because they come to Entebbe and fly directly to the conservation sites,” he added.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) Director General, Fred Bamwesigye said that the aviation sector is not understood by many that’s why they decided to come up with such initiatives as a way of making awareness public about the aviation industry.
He, therefore highlighted that they are looking forward to the move of visiting schools and other institutions of learning as one of the ways of making awareness and interesting learners in the aviation sector.
Vianney Lugya the UCAA spokesperson remarked that on the first day, they were able to fly 150 passengers, 200 on the second day, and over 300 passengers on the third day flying over Kampala areas including Namugongo, Namboole, Busega to view the beautiful Kampala – Entebbe express high way among other areas.
Captain Azizi Ssentamu on behalf of the organizers remarked that the major aim of the expo was to sensitize the public about the aviation sector which was attained because over 15000 Ugandans were involved in the initiative.
He also appreciated the stakeholders including the Ugandan government, Uganda airlines, UCAA, BAR aviation, URA, Uganda police force, UPDF, and Air Serv among others for having supported this year’s edition to make it a success.
The Uganda Aviation 2023 expo climaxed with an airshow by the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Air Force(UPDAF) that left Ugandans yearning for more kind of such experiences.
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