We need another International Airport

By PETER WANYONYI

“No stone will be left unturned”, we were told yet again, as investigations into the causes of the fire that gutted the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) nearly two weeks ago began.

As always is the case in Kenya, our focus is on the wrong thing. We are running after a horse that has bolted, and in the process, we will not even bother to investigate why the door was left open in the first place.

Even more galling has to be the generic lack of alternatives after the fire struck. For some strange reason, Kisumu International Airport — refurbished recently at great cost — was not an alternative for flights unable to land at JKIA. Eldoret, too, was not an option. Tanzania (they have never liked us) is said to have declined to assist, saying Dar airport was “too busy” so we had to make do with Mombasa, Entebbe and even Kigali as alternate destinations.

Nairobi is a busy city, and JKIA a very busy regional hub. As we look for the causes of the fire, we should seriously look at having a second international airport within driving distance of Nairobi. Having said that, Nakuru and Naivasha come to mind, and even the plains of Machakos would be good alternatives.

That way, we’d never have to begin from nothing, like a peasant whose only hut is razed to the ground.