Passengers to wait much longer to use airport facility

By Macharia  Kamau

The Government has postponed for another six months the opening of Terminal 4 and installation of temporary arrivals terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).The two facilities were expected to ease pressure on the current departures unit (Terminal 1) as well as retire Terminal 4’s car park garage from use as an arrivals hall.

The construction of Terminal 4 was supposed to have been expedited so as to start partial operations by early this year. A temporary arrivals terminal – whose procurement process has already began – was expected to be in place by January this year.Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau, however, said the two would not be in place until after August to allow  Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to put in place necessary passenger and baggage handling facilities.

“A decision has been made not to open up the two facilities without the passenger and baggage handling facilities,” said Kamau yesterday at a regional seminar on the facilitation of the aviation industry.

The meeting that brings together aviation industry players from across the region has been organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Kamau disclosed that as per initial plans, Terminal 4 would have operated without some basic amenities for passengers, including boarding bridges, furniture within departure lounges and duty free shops.

Passengers, he pointed out, would also have to be ferried by buses to board aircrafts due to incomplete status of the terminal. 

Temporary facilities

“Initial plans did not take into consideration the amenities but it does not make sense to move people out of temporary facilities and get them into one that does not have essentials,” said Kamau.

The temporary terminal was expected to replace the burnt international arrivals terminal, which has been condemned and KAA is already in the process of procuring the services of a demolitions expert to bring it down.

The temporary facility will have capacity for 2.5 million passengers and have a lifespan of three years. Last year, KAA converted the terminal 4 car garage into an arrivals hall on a temporary basis. The garage is still in use.

Kamau said the process of procuring the amenities including the passenger boarding bridge has started and they will be in place by May this year.