Ugandans urged to join aviation to fill personnel gap

Ugandans have been urged to pursue aviation studies and join the sector in order to fill the employment gap in the aviation industry.

Every year, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) renews contracts of some technical aviation personnel who have clocked retirement age "due to lack of a replacement for them", according to Kenneth Otim, the principal public affairs officer at UCAA in charge of airports.

He said there are currently 60 licensed commercial and transport pilots in Uganda, 150 active licensed flight attendants and 60 aircraft maintenance engineers.

He therefore sounded a clarion call to more Ugandans to interest themselves in joining aviation.

Otim made the call on Friday (May 29 ) during the graduation ceremony of 126 students of Kubis Aviation College in Entebbe municipality.

He said Uganda faces a significant demand for aviators driven by the expansion of the industry.

Citing an example of Uganda Airlines, which currently has 17 international destinations, plus the 26 other licensed operators that fly Uganda's route, he noted that there remain many employment opportunities for Ugandans in the aviation sector.

"Therefore, aviation in Uganda is generally struggling with labour shortage, particularly for skilled pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, cabin crew and airside operation staff."

'Paying better'

Alson Ashaba, who represented the executive secretary of the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB), cited a study by the Boeing pilot and technician outlook, which estimates that the world will need approximately 660,000 new pilots, 710,000 new maintenance technicians and one million new cabin crew members over the next 10 to 20 years.

"Therefore, Ugandans must position themselves for such opportunities. The aviation graduates are stepping out into an industry that is paying better than it ever has."

James Naboth Ahimbisibwe, the academic registrar of Kubis Aviation College, said their aviation school expanded its teaching portfolio to include courses that are regulated by the Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), such as tourism and travel foundation, in order to respond to the growing demands of the aviation and tourism sectors.

Ronald Kalema, a board member of Kubis aviation college representing leaders. (Credit: Julius Luwemba)

'First experience'

Friday's fifth graduation saw students awarded certificates and diplomas in aviation security, airline customer care, passenger ground services, flight dispatch, airline cabin crew, as well as tourism and travel foundation.

Doreen Katusiime, the permanent secretary for the tourism industry, presided over the ceremony and noted that the aviation and tourism sectors are closely related.

"Every visitor who comes to Uganda, their first experience is in the skies with the pilots, cabin crew, and other aircraft staff. Therefore, aviation is a very important sector for tourism because it is the first experience that travellers get when coming to Uganda."

She lauded the management and instructors of Kubis Aviation College for what she termed as preparing skilled professionals who will contribute to the growth of the aviation and tourism industries.

"The tourism sector directly employed over 800,000 people in 2024 and 1.5 million people indirectly. Tourism is among the key sectors that are banked on by the government of Uganda to propel the economy to an upper middle-income status," said Katusiime.

Infrastructure 

Meanwhile, Otim, who doubles as the board chairperson of Kubis Aviation College, said Kabalega International Airport in Hoima district will be handed over to UCAA for management in June this year.

He pointed out some upcountry aerodromes in Kasese, Kisoro, Pakuba, Arua and Kidepo being among those earmarked for tourism circuits, with the latter (Kidepo) envisaged to be upgraded to an international airport.

Data from the UCAA indicates that in the first quarter of 2026, a total number of 505,791 passengers, with a record of 239,850 arrivals and 265,941 departures, used Entebbe International Airport.

Cargo, on the other end, included 7,490 metric tons of exports and imports weighing 4,490 metric tonnes for the period of January to March.

In total, Entebbe airport facilitated 11,980 metric tonnes of cargo.