KAMPALA, Uganda (eTN) - Routes Africa opened yesterday at the lakeside resort and conference complex of Munyonyo with new record attendance recorded by the organizers. This 8th edition of Routes Africa has brought a large number of airline executives, airport managers, aircraft manufacturer teams, government representatives from transport and tourism ministries across the continent, tourism boards and related service providers to Kampala.
Topics for the three-day meeting will cover all aspects of nurturing and developing air traffic across Africa, with dedicated sessions discussing Private Partnerships for Airport Management and Development, New Carriers for Africa – the Rise of LCC’s, Driving Tourism in Africa – a panel moderated by this correspondent – and last but not least The Outlook for the Future.
A series of pre-arranged B2B meetings, in small groups, as well as one on one, have also taken place on day one of the Routes Africa meeting, with more to come before the end of the conference on Tuesday, allowing airports to meet with airlines and airlines to discuss potential cooperation on new routes and ATR. Strategic summit sponsors - Embraer and Bombardier, are showcasing and discussing their latest innovations with airline partners.
Routes Africa co-hosts - Uganda Civil Aviation Authority and Entebbe International Airport, had the opportunity to meet Africa’s "who is who" from the aviation industry, while quasi national airline Air Uganda used the summit to launch their latest destination Mogadishu on early Monday morning with the inaugural flight.
A large number of delegates took advantage of complimentary tours on Saturday, courtesy of the hosts and the Uganda Tourism Board, to visit either the Source of the River Nile in Jinja or the Ngamba Island chimpanzee refuge, while others took advantage of the splendid weather over the weekend to relax on the shores of Lake Victoria or see the colourful markets in the city of Kampala.
The choice of the conference organizers for the venue of the Routes Africa meeting in 2014 is expected to be announced shortly, although news already broke that Durban was selected to host the World Routes conference in 2015, bringing the global routes event to Africa for the first time. For readers keen to follow the events was a twitter hash tag #RoutesAfrica created, which offers ‘insight’ via twitter picture uploads and live commentary from participants as well as the organizers. For more information on the regional and global Routes events visit www.routesonline.com
The
Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority is ramping up the
redevelopment of Entebbe International Airport in
anticipation of sustained robust growth in
passenger and cargo traffic over the next ten
years. Tendering for the works that will see the
installation of two passenger bridges is already at
an advanced stage and construction is expected to
commence in June 2006. Other modifications include
expansion of the arrivals hall and duty free areas.
CAA Public Relations Manager Mr. Ignie Igundura
says as well as an additional two bridges at a
later stage, the old airport will simultaneously be
re-developed to cater to General Aviation
anddomestic operations. This will free space for
additional gates at the international terminal.
TOURISM UGANDA has learnt that among other
amenities, the redesigned arrivals area will
feature a tourist information desk run by the
Uganda Tourist Board. According to CAA Managing
Director Mr. Ambrose Akandonda, passenger traffic
is growing at 12 percent annually, driven by
improving tourism and business travel, while
increasing volumes of cut flower and fish exports
have seen cargo traffic grow 20 percentannually.
"Studies have shown that the Ignie Igundura: The
upgrades will bring facilities that will put
Entebbe International on a par with the best
airports on the continent 
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