Reprieve as authority shelves hefty parking fees at JKIA

Motorists can rest easy after Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) yesterday suspended new hefty parking fees at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The reviewed fees would have seen motorists pay as much as Sh500 for parking at the airport for between an hour and two, in a move that sparked public outrage.

The airport’s management yesterday said in a statement posted on its Twitter account that it had suspended implementation of the new parking rates. KAA did not give reasons for the suspension. 

“Jambo, we would like to notify the general public that KAA has put on hold the proposed new car parking rates pending further consultations with our airport stakeholders.”

The revised parking rates were announced last week by the Kenya Airports Parking Services (KAPS Ltd) that is contracted by KAA to collect parking fee on its behalf.

The new fees were only applicable to both drop-offs and pick-ups. Under the new rates, motorists would have parted with Sh100 for 20-minute parking.

Owners of saloon cars, mini-vans and pick-ups were to pay Sh250 for parking between 20 and 40 minutes while parking between 40 minutes and one hour would have cost motorists Sh350.

For a lost ticket, motorists would have paid a non-refundable fee of Sh1, 000. JKIA is currently one of the busiest and fastest growing logistical hubs in Africa.

It handles an average 6.5 million passengers every day.

KAA collects about Sh23.6 million a month from motorists accessing the airport even without parking. The revised rates would, therefore, have seen its revenue jump substantially.

There were fears that the hefty fees, aimed at decongesting the region’s busiest airport, would have been counterproductive. The move had come at a time when Kenya is preparing for the launch of direct flights to the US in October.