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Kenya vows to transform main airport into regional hub

Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenya's airport authorities said on Tuesday that Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is undergoing major upgrading and modernization works set to stamp its position as a regional hub.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) MD Lucy Mbugua noted that the stature of JKIA has grown significantly in recent years with the increased passengers and cargo traffic into and out of the facility.

"We expect even further growth going forward as more capacity is unlocked by on-going works, which will improve level of service, security and controlled access to meet international standards, thus taking advantage of its strategic location of JKIA to position it as the premier aviation hub of Africa," Mbugua said.

She said in a statement issued in Nairobi that ongoing works at JKIA include the construction of Terminal 2 which is expected to be opened at the end of this month.

"The new prefab terminal has a capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers annually, and will cater for both international and domestic departures and arrivals," Mbugua said.

She said the additional capacity injected by the new terminal brings the capacity of JKIA to 7.5 million passengers annually. JKIA at the moment handles an estimated 6.5 million passengers annually.

"The completion of Terminal 2 is a huge step forward in the concerted efforts made to expand and modernize JKIA," said Mbugua and welcomed the Airports Council International (ACI)'s recognition of JKIA for its excellence in customer service.

JKIA has been named the 5th best airport in Africa in the prestigious 2014 Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards. This recognition is a testament to the airport's on-going commitment to service excellence.

JKIA emerged 5th in the Best Airport by Region-Africa Category in what is considered as the aviation industry's most comprehensive passenger service-benchmarking program. The ACI ASQ Survey has captured passengers' experience at all airport passenger contact points at more than 300 airports worldwide.

ACI ASQ has industry recognition as a world-class benchmarking program that aims to allow airports to plan improvements and benchmark their customer services against other airports.

The recognition comes months after the opening of the airport's new Terminal 1A. The terminal, which has 3 floors and includes duty free shops, a food court, customer lounges, a mini market among other facilities, has a capacity to handle one-way peak hour traffic of 1,500 passengers.

Terminal 1A has improved the customer experience at JKIA, besides guaranteeing operational efficiency, boosting security and improved quality of service to airport users. Endi