Monday weather disruptions force flight diversions, delays at Entebbe

July 30, 2025 in Business, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Flights into Entebbe International Airport were disrupted early Monday morning as a blanket of dense fog forced multiple airlines to delay or divert inbound services to alternate airports in Nairobi and Mwanza.

The rare weather event occurred between 05:00 and 08:00 EAT, with visibility dropping below 400 metres — well under the operational minimums for safe landing — according to aviation sources familiar with the matter. While such fog conditions are infrequent at Entebbe due to its low altitude and proximity to the equator, Monday’s episode significantly impacted early morning arrivals.

Among the affected airlines were Turkish Airlines, Uganda Airlines, and Kenya Airways. Uganda Airlines had to reroute its long-haul services to nearby alternates as per its operational contingency plan. Flight UR111 from London Gatwick, scheduled to arrive in Entebbe at 06:05, was diverted to Nairobi. It later resumed the journey as UR203 and landed at Entebbe at 08:57. This disrupted the normal UR203 shuttle, which was rescheduled from its usual 09:15 arrival to 10:45. Similarly, UR713 from Johannesburg, which was due at 05:00, was redirected to Mwanza.

Kenya Airways’ red-eye service, KQ418 to Nairobi, landed ahead of schedule at 02:37 and departed without issue. However, its reciprocal flight KQ420, originally scheduled to land in Entebbe at 08:55, was delayed until 10:33 as conditions gradually improved.

The most significantly impacted carrier was Turkish Airlines. Flight TK569, scheduled to arrive at 04:35, was delayed in Kigali due to crew duty time limits, which were exceeded during the extended ground hold. Normally, Turkish executes a crew change in Entebbe, but the disruption prevented continuation until later in the evening. The aircraft finally departed Entebbe at 23:58 — almost 18 hours behind schedule. The knock-on effects persisted into Tuesday, with the outbound rotation leaving at 12:14 instead of the usual 05:55 departure.

While fog is a common challenge for high-altitude East African airports such as Kigali and Addis Ababa, it remains a rare occurrence for Entebbe. This geographical advantage typically results in more inbound diversions to Entebbe than vice versa. However, Monday’s anomaly revealed a potential infrastructure shortfall: Entebbe’s runway centre-line lighting is limited to a few hundred metres at either end, unlike airports such as Kigali that offer full-length centre-line illumination — a key feature for low-visibility operations.