The Director General of the Uganda civil aviation authority Fred Bamwesigye on August 26, 2024 opened the capacity building workshop for Eastern African region on Annex 6 -Consumer Protection regulations of Yamoussoukro Declaration. The 5 -day training workshop was organised in Kampala, Uganda by the African Civil Aviation Commission in conjunction with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in collaboration with International Air Transport Association.
The conference comes at a time when protection of the consumers of air transport services is gaining momentum across the continent and would therefore identify specific consumer issues that need prioritization, identify capacity gaps and share global best practices in consumer protection among others.
The workshop is being attended by delegates from the Eastern African Region, Representatives from East Africa Community, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Consumer Protection Organisation, National Airlines and Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.
Aviation experts from the authorityandregional bodies will address the delegates comprising of consumer welfare officials from Eastern African region on diverse issues including the general rights of consumers of aviation services who at many occassions do not have the opportunity of being protected by any institution against poor service delivery and are mostly unaware of any rights they may have against the various service providers.
The one-week regional training session is also aimed at reviewing national laws, rules, regulations, and policies to align with air transport services consumer protection standards.