You are tired after an 8hr flight from abroad,and are approaching JKIA for landing. Excitement replaces the jetlag, as you look keenly forward to meet your relatives and friends in the next few minutes. Suddenly,the aircraft captain informs you and other passengers that there are no landing lights on the JKIA runaway and the flight has been thus been diverted to the nearest international airport, Mombasa - a daunting 7hr road trip away from Nbi! You now have to travel an additional 7hrs on road! A first-time tourist would be horrified. As a returning resident, you sigh and wonder what else is coming.

Isn't it time Kenya built an additional airport near Nbi, as borne out by the events that unfolded jana when the airport was plunged into darkness and flights delayed for >6hrs? Passengers missed out on connecting flights and its not clear who will pick their tabs.

I would recommend Thika - maybe the Kakuzi area:
- It is <1hr away from Nbi,
- Served by a good highway that is being
expanded,
- Miraa traders + flower farmers and other
horticultural producers dont have to come
all the way to Nbi.
- Thika is accessible from other parts of the
country by fairly good roads.

Kitengela is also fine, but unfortunately currently shares Mombasa Rd with JKIA and anything affectiing Msa Rd would also affect the airport at Kitengela. Isiolo, as someone had said in a different thread maybe fine, but is further away from Nbi.

What your take, guys?

Interesting, but is there a minimum distance between international airports to justify the huge space, capital and infrastructure outlay?

Wonder what's shortest distance between two international airports in the world? Is it like 50kms somewhere in the US...

@Radiance - if you can take a smaller craft from Isiolo to Wilson, why wouldn't it happen from Mombasa to Wilson?

That would not be a wise use of my resources.
Another airport within the same vicinity? To mitigate against an accurrence that is as frequent as lightening hiting
Busia twice!!

A problem that took over 12 hrs to rectify isnt kidogo. Cant really blame the mgt. Remember thats a facility of national strategic importance n unquantifiable economic significance. Who would be that foolish?

Parallel lighting system complete with back-up gensets.....is that rocket science?

How many runways have a working lighting system in kenya? List them pliz. And were the underground cabling done under the current mgt? No! Im not defending anyone, bt we just dnt go blaming pple lyk that. All the same, the current mgt must pull up their socks to ensure the same doesnt recur.

@kularaha, ua anger is somewhat misdirected. These things happen in kenya. What I meant with the 1st statement is, there r several which used to have a serviceable lighting system bt failed only after a few years. Elewa boss, JKIA iko Kenya, na iko sawa!

Shooting from the hip? really??

Read this:

http://www.airport-techn...projects/jomo-kenyatta/

then this:

http://myafrica.wordpres...billion-jkia-expansion/

finally this:

http://www.airport-techn....com/news/news3862.html

This circus has been ongoing and was expected to be complete by end of 2009, yes sir, in 20 days time.

Unfortunately, someone somewhere wanted his "share"....

I see Muhoho apologists around.......that was a real shame, just as Njunge has said, putting a back up system aint no rocket science!!!