Entebbe International Airport has opened to International commercial passenger flights ending at least five months of lock down occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic which started early in the year. The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) says that 13 flights to and from the airport has been cleared for the first day while 10 other flights have been confirmed for the second day. The airlines expected to resume flights in Uganda include the national carrier Uganda Airlines, Kenya Airways, Qatar Airways, Air Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines, Fly-Dubai, Rwanda Air, KLM, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Brussels Airlines, and Tarco Aviation.

The UCAA says the reopening will see the number of flights handled at the airport increase gradually. The regulator has also given details of a revised weekly flight schedule for the first phase of the reopening which runs for three months from the opening date.

The emphasis will be put on the travelers presenting certificates of negative test results for Covid-19, which must be done 72 hours before arriving in the country.

The international airport and land borders will also be opened for tourists coming in and out of the country provided that they tested negative 72 hours before arrival and provided the tour operators ensure that the tourists do not mix with the Ugandans during their stay.

According to the new rules now the tourists coming in the country will be driven straight from the airport to their destinations or to designated transit hotels that are set aside for that purpose the same goes to the business delegations that will also be handled in the same way by the local business partners.

Ugandans returning who have negative PCR results will be allowed to go home but will be followed up from their addresses by the Ministry of Health officials.

The airport will be opened also to all travelers entering or leaving Uganda though it will be mandatory that the traveler carries negative test results for Covid-19 done within 72 hours before the flight and the same applies to all those entering or travelling to Uganda.