Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has seen several upgrades in recent years. The renovations and expansion partly appear to have been accelerated by a fire disaster that struck the largest airport in eastern Africa in 2013. In August of that year, a fire originating in the immigration section of the then Unit 1 spread and completely destroyed international arrival and departure units. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) had to scramble to reorganize traffic in the busy airport through makeshift structures as plans were quickly hatched to build new terminal buildings and renovate others. Things regained a sense of normalcy eventually and Terminal 1A, a brand new and ultramodern building was opened in 2016.
The latest 12-month airport development project aims to refurbish the departure halls to improve the check-in, security screening, retail operations as well as passenger lounge experience.
Once completed, the newly renovated well-lit departure terminals will “deliver modern concessions and amenities that will give travelers a friendly and memorable experience”, says KAA. It will also ease passenger flow and increase efficiency due to the centralization of security screening procedures and the reallocation of available floor spaces to international departure gates.
To expedite the implementation of this project, Airlines that have been operating from Terminal 1B and 1C are being temporarily relocated to Terminal 1A and Terminal 2. To minimize inconveniences, KAA has requested passengers to arrive at the airport at least 4 hours before their flight departures.
The project will cost Kes 963 million.
