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I want to travel from Kigali to Munich on KLM flight KL0537. I am a British citizen, holding a British passport and German residence.

The KLM website says the flight has 1 stop in Amsterdam. However, it is also showing me the message "Your Kigali - Amsterdam trip includes a stop in Entebbe, Uganda. Please check the entry requirements for this country" (see screenshot below).

  • What does this message mean?
  • Will I need to get off the plane in Entebbe?
  • Will I need a visa for Uganda if I'm only transiting through?

Addition: Lufthansa shows me the same message when flying Kigali - Munich, via Brussels (flight SN467).

KLM website message showing 1 stop in Amsterdam but 'a stop' in Entebbe

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  • This flight is weird, all tracking websites mention that it is only an EBB-AMS, not KGL-AMS
    – Nicolas Formichella
    Mar 12 at 15:46
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    To answer visa-related questions, we need to know your citizenship. This theluxurytravelexpert.com/2019/03/20/… indicates that the stop is probably for technical reasons (a change of the cockpit and cabin crew) and/or to allow passengers to leave/join the flight in Entebbe, so you would stay on board.
    – Traveller
    Mar 12 at 15:53
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    @NicolasFormichella Not sure where you're looking, but KL537 is a triangle flight - the same fight number is used for AMS-KGL-EBB-AMS. The stop in EBB is only 70 minutes so I presume there's no need to de-plane and no visa/etc required, but I don't know that for a fact.
    – Doc
    Mar 12 at 17:00
  • @Traveller I've added my citizenship to the question.
    – Tempest16
    Mar 12 at 17:02
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    @Tempest16 According to Timatic, the system used by airlines, you don’t need a visa to transit in Uganda and you’re exempt from Yellow Fever vaccination if not leaving the transit area. You can check that out for yourself by inputting your full details and itinerary on the IATA site iatatravelcentre.com
    – Traveller
    Mar 12 at 20:34

2 Answers 2

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+100

I've returned from my trip, and have the following answer:

  • Yes, the plane did stop at Entebbe International Airport
  • KLM staff explained via announcement what would happen shortly before we landed
  • The plane was in Entebbe for ~50 minutes
  • There was a crew change, and used seats were cleaned by a (fast & efficient) ground cleaning team
  • I did not need to disembark; only passengers going to Entebbe disembarked
  • New passengers got on at Entebbe
  • There were no visa/security checks for passengers staying on the plane
  • I did not need to show any vaccination certificates at any point

Here is my previous answer, having asked KLM a month before I flew.

I phoned KLM and they said:

  • Yes, the plane does stop at Entebbe International Airport
  • It will be there for ~15-20 minutes
  • I will not disembark; passengers will embark from Entebbe
  • There will be no visa/security checks for passengers staying on the plane
  • I do not need a visa for Uganda

Interestingly, the KLM agent did say I would need a yellow fever certificate to board the plane in Kigali.

He double-checked entry requirements using KLM's Traveldoc site, which does not show the Entebbe stop, and does not mention the need for a yellow fever certificate.

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    "I did not need to disembark": indeed, you probably would not have been able to disembark if you'd wanted to.
    – phoog
    Aug 27 at 13:21
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This is a bit of a guess, but I'll share anyway. I once flew a London -> Nairobi flight, which had an intermediate stop in Dar es Salaam. Passengers could disembark at Dar but not embark. Passengers continuing to Nairobi could not exit the plane and didn't need visas for Tanzania. I believe this may have been due to a ban on foreign carriers selling flights within East Africa.

Probably best to ask the airline.

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  • Thanks for the info; useful to hear others' experiences of this style of flight arrangement.
    – Tempest16
    Mar 19 at 19:09
  • @Tempest16 when I flew from Addis Ababa to New York with a stop in Lomé some very muscular men who I remember as being armed (but I was awakened from a very deep sleep so I don't remember all of the details) came on the plane and may have checked our documents. We had to stay in our seats. It was quite clear that we were not to disembark.
    – phoog
    Aug 27 at 13:24

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