17 July 2007
Kampala — THE bullet-scarred Entebbe Old Airport will be turned into an aviation museum after the Commonwealth meeting in November, says the aviation authority. In addition, a domestic operations terminal will be built alongside the museum in preparation for Chogm.
"The project will cost sh7b," Civil Aviation spokesman Vianney Luggya said.
"We plan to capitalise on the history surrounding the building to turn it into a kind of aviation museum, with the raid on Entebbe as the main attraction."
In 1976, an Air France plane was hijacked by sympathisers to the Palestinian cause and landed at Entebbe, with the blessing of President Idi Amin.
The hijackers demanded the release of all Palestinian political prisoners in exchange for the, mostly Jewish, passengers. In one of the most dramatic rescue operations, Israeli commandos under the cover of darkness, flew into Entebbe, rescued the 100 passengers and flew out before the Ugandan army could mount a credible defence.
The raid on Entebbe was pictured in many movies, including the most recent Oscar-winning film, 'The Last King of Scotland'.
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