Bid to breathe life into Isiolo Airport hits turbulence

Isiolo International Airport pictured on November 13, 2019. The facility is not being fully utilised. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Munjuri said that it would take government incentives to attract operators to the airport once it is ready for cargo operations.
  • Ms Judy Wachira, a tour operator, said airlines must offer incentives to attract huge numbers of local and domestic tourists.

Isiolo International Airport, commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta two years ago and which was expected to boost the economies of counties in northern Kenya, is still lying idle and operating below capacity.

While traders have been calling for relocation of miraa export operations to Isiolo to free up space at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Wilson Airport, both in Nairobi, lack of cargo handling facilities, aviation lights and a requisite runway has delayed utilisation of the Sh2.7 billion investment that is part of the Sh2.5 trillion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor project.

The airport, which has a capacity to handle 350,000 passengers annually, only serves the occasional chartered flight.

The Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) has on numerous occasions announced plans to extend the 1.4 kilometre runway to accommodate bigger aircraft but work is yet to commence.

SCHOOL RELOCATION

Early this year, Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said the government was fast-tracking construction of cargo-handling facilities at the airport in bid to relocate miraa transporters from Wilson and JKIA.

“The original idea for Isiolo airport was to decongest Wilson so that airlines transporting miraa specifically operate from Isiolo. The President has directed that this matter be expedited. We expect the airport will be ready by end of February,” Mr Munya said.

However, no sign of expansion has been seen at the airport that only served Fly-SAX airline for a short stint last year.

Besides, KK Nkengecia Primary School, which is located about a kilometre from the runway and lies along the flight path, is yet to be relocated.

The relocation was delayed after KAA and locals disagreed on completion of a Sh77 million new facility funded by the authority.

According to the school’s board of management vice-chairman Bernard Mugendi, the new school was unfit for occupation due to a swampy compound lack of basic facilities.

TRANSPORT HUB

The new school lacks proper drainage, a fence, playing ground, girls’ toilets, as well as furniture, all which KAA had promised to provide under the contract.

In the meantime, the school, with a population of 200 pupils, remains within the airport, standing in the way of its safe operation under aviation standards.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is also yet to set up at the facility as its current volume of business cannot sustain its operations.

“We fear losing our jobs because there is no business. In fact, we just report to work and spend the entire day idling around because there is nothing to do,” said an officer at the airport who sought anonymity.

If relocated, about 20 cargo planes that ferry miraa to Somalia daily from Nairobi’s Wilson and JKIA airports can transform the airport into a major transport hub.

Maua Town Miraa Traders Association chairman Ismail Juma told the Sunday Nation that they have no problem using the airport but they have never been informed on its suitability.

“We are aware that the airport is incomplete but no one has ever engaged us about using Isiolo to transport miraa. It costs Sh25,000 to transport one truckload of miraa to Nairobi. I believe the cost can come down if miraa is airlifted to Somalia directly from Isiolo,” Mr Juma said.

COSTLY STRATEGY

According to Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) chairman Kimathi Munjuri, it is not viable for air cargo operators in Nairobi to relocate to Isiolo.

“Most of the cargo planes carry miraa in the morning and go into other business during the day. There is a repositioning cost and this is why the Kenya Airports Authority has not been able to attract cargo planes to ferry flowers at Eldoret airport despite it being close to the producers,” Mr Munjuri said in an earlier interview.

He said even after the airport is ready for cargo, it would take closer engagement between the government, exporters and transporters to ensure the relocation does not flop.

“It is costly for a transporter to fly to Isiolo, ferry miraa to Somalia and then return to Nairobi where there is brisk business. As matters stand now, it is cheaper to ferry miraa by road to Nairobi rather that exporting it from the Isiolo Airport,” he said.

Mr Munjuri noted that for now, miraa cannot be airlifted from Isiolo due to the airport’s short runway and its lack of aviation lights.

FKY-SAX

He added that it would take government incentives to attract operators to the airport once it is ready for cargo operations.

The re-entry of budget airline East African Air Express (formerly Fly-SAX) into the region has hardly improved matters.

The airline, which was the pioneer on the route, halted its services mid last year after operating for barely 10 months, citing lack of local support and political goodwill.

The rebranded company announced that the new flights will originate from Wilson Airport twice a week.

“We will start with two flights a week on Friday and Sunday, moving into daily flights depending on the support from the relevant stakeholders but we have no intentions of pulling back. We pulled out because we did not get the support we had been promised in 2017,” the airline’s director George Kivindyo announced at the airport last month.

Tour operators have cited inadequate marketing as a key contributor to the underutilisation of the airport, which they said has the potential to grow asa regional cargo transport hub especially for local produce due to its central location and availability of support services.

INCENTIVES

Ms Judy Wachira, a tour operator at Benita Travels, said airlines must offer incentives to attract huge numbers of local and domestic tourists.

“The airline companies with intentions of joining the route must offer favourable charges so that Kenyans fly regularly and tourists conveniently visit various destinations in the region,” she said.

Isiolo Chamber of Commerce chair Hussein Larus said in order to boost tourism and trade in the region, new airlines must conduct robust marketing and provide incentives to travellers to go by air rather than by road.

“There is need to reach out to our people and let them know what they offer. In fact, many fear flying but with proper sensitisation, they will slowly get accustomed. Let us also ensure that air tickets are pocket-friendly,” said Mr Larus.

When reached for comment, airport manager Christine Eyanai said she was not authorised to speak to the press.

Ms Angela Tilitei, of the KAA corporate affairs office, did not respond to our email inquiries.