KAA says services at Isiolo airport to resume in 2 months

Services at the Isiolo International Airport will resume in two months, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has announced.

This comes even as the government seeks to revive the facility that has been lying idle for more than three years.

The Sh2.7 billion airport, commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017 — and which is part of the government’s Sh2.5 trillion Lapsset project — was expected to be a game changer in the economies of northern Kenya counties but has never been fully operational.

During an inspection tour of the airport on Wednesday together with officials from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, KAA Acting Managing Director Alex Gitari said improvement works are ongoing at the facility awaiting resumption of services.

Cracks on runway

Areas being worked on in the routine maintenance is the 1.4 kilometre runway that had some cracks and which the official said will be completed soon.

Mr Gitari announced that the building of a Sh20.9 million cargo shed is ongoing and that the runway will soon be extended to 2.5 kilometres to attract business people, especially in the booming miraa business and bigger aircraft.

“The cargo shed will be complete by July to attract business people and phase two of extending the runway will start soon,” said Mr Gitari, adding that five airlines have already expressed interest in using the airport.

Substructure works for the main building are complete and steel fabrication is underway while the overall work is 30 per cent complete, according to a report by contractor, Reliance City Housing Company Limited.

Marketing the airport

The government will partner with Isiolo and Meru county governments in marketing the facility as part of its new business development plan, the official said, while admitting that inadequate marketing had delayed operationalisation of the airport.

Lack of political goodwill has been cited as being among the reasons for the delayed pickup of services by residents, who are predominantly pastoralists.

“We previously backed off because we did not get the support we had been promised (by leaders) in 2017,” Budget Airline Director George Kivindyo said in October 2019.

KCAA officers were withdrawn from the facility last year as the current business could not sustain its operations at a time when some of the staff were considering quitting work.

Cargo hub

With proper sensitisation and marketing, the airport has the potential of growing as a cargo hub for local produce due to its central location and availability of support services.

Business people and tour operators say airlines should offer affordable services to lure investors and tourists into using air travel.

“The two county governments should offer incentives to attract investors and assist in marketing of the airport,” said Ms Judy Wachira of Benita Travels.

Before Covid-19 struck and the government imposed air travel restrictions to curb the spread of the disease, the airport operated below its capacity and was being used by small chartered aircrafts (un-scheduled flights).

No local support

Since the commissioning of the airport, only one airline — Budget Airline East African Air Express (formerly Fly-Sax) — has attempted to use it but backed off on three occasions citing lack of local support.

In February 2020 and five months after its failed second attempt, the airline announced that it would resume flights on the Nairobi-Isiolo route on Valentine’s Day in the company’s third attempt to lure investors and residents into embracing air travel but the flights never kicked off.

The company, which was the pioneer on the route, first halted services in mid-2018 after operating for nearly 10 months.

Lack of necessary infrastructure, including aviation lights to allow planes to land and take off at night and cargo sheds, has prevented full utilisation of the airport which has a 5000-square-metre passenger terminal.