More than 80 students at the Soroti based East African Civil Aviation Academy have been going without flight lessons over the past weeks due to a shortage of aviation fuel to run the aircrafts at the institute.
A source in Soroti said last week that the school has been unable to send its students on flight lessons for about a month after its stock of aviation fuel ran out. The source also told URN that the school is also currently struggling to renew its aviation license which has expired. He said the academy has been operating on old maps which need to be reviewed and new training manuals designed.
Kenneth Kiyimba, a student leader at the academy which is commonly known as Soroti Flying School, told Uganda Radio Network that it is true they were not having flight lessons but said efforts were underway to restock the fuel.
Bernard Wandera, the director of the academy, confirmed the fuel shortage. He was however optimistic that their reserves would be replenished especially in the new financial year that starts at the end of this month. Wandera however described the situation as normal adding that their students were engaging more in ground work in the meantime and would cover up for the lost flight schedules when the fuel arrives.
Wandera said it was costly to keep the aircrafts in the air saying they have fuel consumption ranging from 40 litres per hour to 100 litres per hour when in flight. With each litre of the fuel costing 7,000 shillings, he said the institute requires much money to remain in operation.
The East African Civil Aviation Academy was established in 1971 to train pilots and aircraft Engineers for the East African market.
