Adjumani airfield resumes operations

The Adjumani airfield, which has been idle for decades, has been cleared to resume flights.

Bar Aviation, an air service company,  launched its flight from Kajjansi to Adjumani and from Adjumani to Arua at the weekend. 

According to the plan, the 12-seater capacity Cessna Caravan plane 5x-GBR is expected to fly twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays at a cost of $190 (about Shs700,000). 

Mr Ben Unzi, the chairperson of  Tamana Village in Openzinzi parish Adropi Sub-county, said the airfield, which was constructed in the 1980s, had been deserted due to Lord’s Resistance Army insurgence.

“I am hopeful that the resumption in the operations of the airfield will improve service delivery in the villages, especially the road leading to the airfield that will be graded,” Mr Unzi said. The State Minister for Works and Transport, Mr Fred Byamukama,  flagged off the flight from Kajjansi.

The Adujumani Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Mr Swadick Angupale, said the flight would save time, especially in handling medical emergencies.

“Sometimes we need blood from Gulu or Arua regional referral hospitals but we take long to get it,” he said.

Mr Angupale also said the flights would promote trade to South Sudan and the DR Congo.

He said although movement from Adjumani to Kampala has been made easy, the road from the airfield is in a  poor state.

The marketing manager of Bar Aviation, Ms Dorothy Kagaba, said their plan to expand the flight routes is based on the challenges of travelling from Kampala to Adjumani by road which takes more than  eight hours.

“We have decided to bridge the gap, save time for businessmen because it is only a one and half hours flight. We want to make sure that we reach hard-to-reach areas of the country,” she said.

Bar Aviation has a fleet of 19 aircraft and helicopters with a new section of UAVS to support the growing need for surveillance, mapping, and geographical survey.

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