BY VITALIS KIMUTAI

The Eldoret International Airport has in the recent past reported brisk business as has become a destination of choice for cargo planes importing goods to the country.

The airport currently handles two air bus cargo flights, one jumbo jet 747 series and two small jets a week.

Mr Peter Wafula, the airport manager said the facility had become popular with importers because of the swift clearance of cargo at the facility.

"Besides the location of the airport, goods imported are cleared faster compared to other airports in the region because of less traffic," Wafula said in an interview.

Wafula revealed that most cargo planes using the airport at the moment are from the Middle East and Dubai. He said at least 20 per cent of the goods passing through the airport were destined for the local market, while the rest went to Mombasa and Nairobi among other areas.

"When we use Eldoret Airport, we save as much as 10 hours due to less traffic and efficiency in clearing and offloading," said Mr Eliud Kihu, an importer.

Kihu said previously, he used to import his goods through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where delays took as long as 12 hours due to heavy traffic.

Saves time

Most of the cargo goods going through the airport are not only those imported by businessmen in parts of Western region, but those from Nairobi too.

An importer, Mr Mwai Ngugi, said once goods are offloaded and cleared by relevant Government departments including Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Revenue Authority, they are transported to Nairobi and other destinations by trucks.

Ngugi said much as the transport costs are a factor, it was cheaper in the long run than being held in an airport for a whole day when one could have already offloaded the goods to the market.

"Take for example a situation where goods are destined for Kitale, Nakuru, Kericho or Kapsabet and they are held in Nairobi for an entire day. It would be cheaper to channel them through Eldoret where it takes around one hour to clear then transport them to the markets," Ngugi said.

Investors in the horticulture and floriculture industries have also been advised to use the airport to transport their fresh farm produce to markets.

"Flowers and fruits which are grown in abundance in the region should be channeled to foreign markets through the airport as it is time saving," Charles Mose, chairman of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Eldoret branch said.

The airport which started its operations 18 years ago is located some 14 kilometres from Eldoret town along the Eldoret/Kapsabet road.

When the airport commenced its operations, traffic was so low that at one time, the airport was temporarily closed for lack of business.

Two main domestic air operators - Jetlink and Fly 540 which fly in and out of the facility daily to various destinations including Nairobi and Kisumu, dominate the route.