Uganda’s Entebbe International is planning to attract more transit travellers through the airport by scrapping off airport charges, a move that is likely to give Kenya’s Jomo Kenyetta International Airport as the preferred transit route in the region.
Uganda’s Ministry of Finance said the country will exempt airlines from paying airport charges when they fly through Entebbe, making it cheaper for passengers to connect to other destinations.
“Under the Value Added Tax Act, the following amendments have been made, exempt the supply of airport user services charged by the Civil Aviation Authority to reduce the cost of transiting through Entebbe Airport,” said Finance Minister Matia Kasajia.
The changes will make the cost it cheaper to fly through Entebbe compared to connecting through JKIA as passengers pay for airport charges and taxes. Before the announcement, Uganda charged $47 in airport taxes while JKIA charged $50; both above the average airport charges in the continent.
Passengers pay an average of $36 dollars in transfer taxes and fees, compared to $17.55 in Europe.
Entebbe is served by 18 international airlines flying to 30 destinations.
Traffic on through Entebbe Airport is on the rise, with numbers show that the airports is almost at its pre-pandemic levels. In May 2022, passenger traffic reached 89.7% of its pre-pandemic level. A total of 125,933 international passengers passed through the airport, up from just 987 passengers in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic.
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