Moi International Airport staff on leave recalled to manage traffic

By NGUMBAO KITHI and STANLEY MWAHANGA

KENYA: Moi International Airport staff on leave have been recalled as officials plan to receive international flights re-routed from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

However, aviation experts warned the Kenya’s second international airport could only handle nine large aircraft at a time.

Officials at the airport told The Standard they were acting on a proposal by the Government on diverting international flights from JKIA to Mombasa airport.

Increased passengers

“There has been a proposal that if Nairobi is overwhelmed, passengers will be diverted to Mombasa and then travel to Nairobi like domestic passengers,” said James Nyatigo, the principal immigration officer for Coast region.

Mr Nyatigo said staff in Mombasa had received orders from Nairobi to clear an increased number of passengers, prompting the recall of employees on leave.

“After we received the order, we realised that we require a bigger capacity to handle the additional passengers and that is why we recalled staff who are on leave,” he said.

Nyatigo claimed Moi International Airport can handle an additional number of passengers and aircraft but directed any technical questions to the Kenya Airports Authority.