Uganda is celebrating high traffic through Entebbe airport and seems to be mounting serious competition against Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.CAA record for December 2024 and January 2025 is exciting and has been considered a progressive trend as the airport reaps from a major facelift done recently.
There improvements in etiquette on passenger handling, a reduction in average passenger support time and adoption to technology.
In August 2024, Entebbe handled 204,575 passengers with another closer record of 198,961 passengers in December 2023.Notably, annual passenger numbers increased from 1,932,094 in 2023 to 2,243,104 in 2024.
This figure is higher than Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) which handled 1,507,836 visitors in 2024, up from 1,478,396 in 2023.Kenyan media reported that in 2024, JKIA received the most passenger arrivals in August (155,291), July (153,961) and December when it recorded 140,994 arrivals.
On top of passenger traffic, Cargo operations at the airport also registered a steady increase, with a total of 5,069 metric tonnes handled in January 2025—3,491 metric tons of exports and 1,578 metric tons of imports. This builds on the strong performance in 2024, when Entebbe International Airport processed 67,731 metric tonnes of cargo, up from 59,073 metric tonnes in 2023.
“The steady increase in both passenger and cargo traffic is a testament to Uganda’s growing position as a regional aviation hub,” Luggya noted, adding that continued improvements in airport infrastructure and expanded airline connectivity will further support growth in the sector. Can Uganda sustain this progressive trend against Kenya?
