The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has come out to shade more light on the Flights Delayed over Poor Runway Lighting at Entebbe Airport that we run yesterday.
On September 28, 2021 at around 7.05 pm power supply to the Ground Airfield lights went off leading to power fluctuations.
As a result, there was delayed landing of an incoming Uganda Airlines flight from N’jili International Airport, which had to first go-round until the power supply to the airfield lights was stabilized.
It safely landed 20 minutes later.
It is not true that the aircraft landed using portable lights or ‘torches’, as alleged.
Preliminary indications are that the problem arose from an underground cable connecting to the airfield lighting system, which is undergoing repairs.
It led to tripping of the circuit breaker for the newly installed remote control system for airfield lighting.
The new remote control system has been in use on test/trial basis since 13th August 2021, and is expected to be officially commissioned in October after completion of a change management process.
In the meantime, all possible mitigation measures, including implementation of operational procedures in the event of such occurrences have been put in place to avoid re-ccurrence, and minimize disruption to service provision.
The few delays that may have been experienced prior to landing or take-off are highly regretted.
It is worth noting though that occasional delays sometimes happen in the aviation industry, and it is safer to delay a bit for corrective action in order to first address any safety related concerns.
The UCAA mails are functioning normally and have not experienced any disruption at all. In any case, the mail system and how it is hosted has no linkage with a localised power fluctuation.
