Entebbe International Airport conducted a full-scale aviation security exercise on Friday to test how quickly stakeholders can respond to a commercial aircraft hijack, with 67 people on board a simulated flight taken hostage before take-off.
Code-named ‘EX 2026’, the two-and-a-half-hour drill started at about 12:14 pm. It simulated Fenna Airlines flight FY 506, a pseudo-name carrier with 62 passengers and 5 crew, being hijacked after the perpetrator gained cockpit access when the pilot briefly stepped out. Air Traffic Control was alerted, emergency procedures were activated, and the scenario included a ransom demand and negotiations before security action was taken.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority Director General, Fred K. Bamwesigye, said the exercise assessed inter-agency coordination, incident command, airport emergency response, and collaboration under high-stress conditions.
“I commend all stakeholders who participated, including joint security agencies, airline operators, ground handling agents, health personnel, and other government agencies, for testing and evaluating their response capabilities in accordance with the Airport Contingency Plan,” Bamwesigye told reporters after the drill.
He added that all participants will hold a debrief to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
“These debriefings have consistently produced valuable feedback and are an essential part of our preparedness process,” he said.
Ongoing upgrades at Entebbe
Alhajji Eng. Ayub Sooma, Director of Airports and Aviation Security at UCAA, said the exercise is part of a regular cycle and comes as Entebbe completes several major upgrades.
“Every two years, we conduct a full security exercise and a full-scale exercise, and every year we do a tabletop security exercise, so that is what we do,” Sooma said. “Entebbe International Airport is undergoing several developments. The upgrade and expansion have been completed and have enhanced our facilities. We have a new cargo terminal, passenger terminal, and other facilities. We have also remodelled arrivals and departures, which has enhanced passenger facilitation.”
Eng Sooma said security and emergency systems have also been upgraded. “We have upgraded our security surveillance and monitoring. We have enhanced our aerodrome rescue firefighting services with new tenders to respond to emergencies on land and water. We have upgraded our water supply, and our power supply has moved from one MVA to four MVA, with redundancy of another four MVA. Our standby power is now synchronised to cover most areas of the airport.”
He noted that UCAA recently passed the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme and is currently undergoing a quality management system audit, which also concluded successfully today.
Work continues, Bamwesigye says
Responding to questions on when upgrades will be completed, Bamwesigye said airport development is continuous.
“Airports and aviation infrastructure, by their nature, are never finished. There is no day we will say we have stopped upgrading both the physical buildings and internal and external facilities,” Bamwesigye said. “Passengers increase with economic activity, tourism, and airline expansion. Uganda Airlines is adding 10 aircraft, so we must provide parking and facilities for them.”
He said UCAA is working on a project to harmonise the new and old terminals over the next two to three years, and that runway lighting for the shorter 12/30 runway is about 60 per cent complete and will soon be commissioned for night use.
“We are also improving our messaging systems and radar. There is a primary and secondary radar project ongoing in the north to monitor aircraft flying low and high in that area, and we are improving the national radar system,” Bamwesigye said. “So yes, we are working, and we will continue to work here, at up-country aerodromes, and in the air navigation system.”
The exercise is a requirement under the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Contracting Member States must validate emergency plans every two years to comply with Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention and the Civil Aviation Security Regulations 2022.
The authority last held a full-scale security exercise on 26 October 2023, followed by a tabletop exercise in 2024. A full-scale safety exercise was held in May 2025.
UCAA confirmed that normal airport operations continued during the drill, so passenger and cargo services were not affected.
In May 2026, Entebbe recorded 94,840 arrivals and 96,802 departures, for a total of 191,642 international passengers, averaging 6,182 per day. That is 4,736 fewer than the 196,378 recorded in May 2025. Cargo handled was 4,935 metric tonnes, made up of 1,737 tonnes of imports and 3,198 tonnes of exports, down from 5,882 tonnes in May 2025.
Uganda scored 81.6 per cent in the most recent ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach, which is above global and regional averages.
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