In December 2022, President Ruto commissioned the Kakamega Airstrip’s runway, taxiway, and an expanded apron following rehabilitation works undertaken by the KAA at Ksh174.4 million.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) on Wednesday, October 9 announced that it will embark on repairs at the Kakamega Airstrip in response to concerns raised by residents following the suspension of flights to the robust town by budget airline Skyward Express.
The authority, which is charged with the umbrella responsibility of providing and managing a coordinated system of airports in the country, announced that it would address the deteriorating condition of the runway, occurring barely two years after President William Ruto commissioned it.
In December 2022, President Ruto commissioned the Kakamega Airstrip’s runway, taxiway, and an expanded apron following rehabilitation works undertaken by the KAA at Ksh174.4 million.
During a development tour in the Western region in 2023, President Ruto likewise revealed plans to expand the Kakamega Airstrip runway to accommodate larger aircraft flying in and out of the area.
Passengers board an aircraft at Kakamega Airstrip. /METROPOL TV
The authority resultantly stated that repair works costing Ksh7 million will commence on Thursday, October 10. Additionally, it will have engineers audit the initial works done on the runway, and further repairs will be carried out in due course.
“We acknowledge the poor state of the runway at the Kakamega Airstrip which has been caused by the weight of the aircraft.
“We will have engineers conduct an audit of the works done to determine whether they met the required standards. However, a contractor will be on site from October 10th to conduct remedial repairs of the runway,” KAA Corporate Communications Manager Angela Mite revealed.
Skyward Express had earlier attributed its decision to temporarily pull out of the Nairobi (Wilson Airport-WIL/HKNW) to Kakamega route to the condition of the runway at Kakamega Airstrip, which the airline found to be in deteriorating condition, thus posing a risk to the safety of its passengers.
The suspension, which wound up taking effect on Monday, September 30, was deemed a big blow to passengers flying to the Western region with more ease and hurt the lifeline of hundreds of businesses that relied on flight operations in and out of the airstrip.
“Back then, you could see businesses moving swiftly. I had a friend who would tell me he was going to Nairobi to get his work documents, and after 45 minutes, you’d hear him say, ‘Yes, I’ve arrived, and business is continuing.’ Things were smooth, and everything was going well,” Hillary Ambale, a Kakamega resident, told Citizen TV.
“Now that it’s closed, you have to drive from Kakamega to reach Nairobi, which takes almost ten hours. This makes it difficult and even affects meetings you were supposed to attend.”
“We don’t have work even now. If you tell a customer there’s an airstrip and they want to go there, they say they would, but it’s closed. Now, you have to take them all the way to places like Mumias, and if you look at the money they give you for that, it’s just a loss,” other residents lamented.
Flights to Kakamega from Nairobi were, when they were launched, revealed to be affordable, with Skyward then charging Ksh5,990 for a one-way ticket from Nairobi to Kakamega, a matter which led to an increase in flight bookings. Other companies ranged their airfares between Ksh5,999 to Ksh7,999, cheaper compared to rates that forced Western Kenya travellers to connect via Kisumu International Airport.
Because Kakamega airstrip is just that- an airstrip, small commercial aircraft ply the route, meaning no aircraft land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) [NBO/HKJK], as compared to their counterparts at Kisumu Airport which are medium-sized and capable of landing at JKIA.
The flight from Nairobi to Kakamega covers a distance of around 288 kilometres, of around 40 minutes. The newly renovated Kakamega Airstrip was to directly generate employment opportunities within the airlines, within the supply chain in the transportation of goods and services and air navigation services providers as well as airport operators.
