Jomo Kenyatta International Airport resumes operations to full capacity

By MACHARIA KAMAU

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has resumed operations to full capacity, currently handling upwards of 17,000 passengers a day.

Principal Secretary Transport ministry Nduva Muli said the airport’s operations were at 100 per cent and both the Government and Kenya Airports Authority were now moving to enhance the quality of services at the airport.

This will be done by conversion of the JKIA Parking Garage into a temporary arrivals hall. Currently passengers are being cleared using makeshift tents that do not have adequate passenger handling facilities. The three storey garage that is part of terminal 4 will also house airlines’ offices, banks and other facilities that were previously stationed at the arrivals terminal. “The airport is now fully operational and we now want to improve quality and quantity of the services that we give to the passengers,” he said.

Mr Muli, who spoke during a tour of JKIA, said the garage will serve as a temporary arrivals terminal before the KAA procures a new ready-made terminal that is expected to be in place in three months. 

Arrivals facility

He said the process of procuring the terminal has already commenced. Conversion of the garage into a temporary arrivals facility is expected to be complete within three weeks. 

“The temporary terminal has been in the plans because as we know the airport has been constrained, we are just fast tracking the acquisition…it will have a capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers a year and has a lifespan of three years. The terminal will be in place between eight to 12 weeks,” he said.

There are also plans to bring the terminal 4 into partial operations by end of this year. The terminal that was scheduled for completion mid next year and has a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year is expected to help ease the challenges faced by JKIA.