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The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has once again hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The airport has been condemned as a deteriorating and neglected facility. This follows an inspection by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The inspection, which was conducted in conjunction with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) found that the airport’s single runway which is known as 06/24 was in a state of disintegration.
The disintegration has been noticed by pilots who have started raising alarm that the standards at the JKIA are not up to par. According to the report, the JKIA runway also has large amounts of rubber deposits on its touchdown zones which have been reducing friction and obscuring the markings on the centreline. This report was dated June 2025.
To make matters worse, the inspection found potholes on the taxiway. “A huge pothole was observed on Taxiway ‘G’. Cracks and degeneration of the bitumen surface were also observed in several areas. This is the same with the apron and parking areas,” the report stated.
The report went on to detail how the centreline on the runway and the touchdown markings were invisible. At the same time, it was found that the JKIA has not been conducting regular friction testing as required. It then recommended for immediate repainting of the centreline and the touchdown markings according to the standards and friction testing of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 14.
This was not the end of the shocking discoveries at the nation’s most prominent airport. Within the airside, inspectors found open drainages and stagnant water bodies which were attracting dozens of birds and waterfowl. The stagnant water bodies were prevalent near the cargo terminal.
The airport has largely been neglected by the government, leave for the quick-fix lease plan in which the government had secretly attempted to give an Indian company known as Adani Group unlimited ability operate the airport for decades.
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This plot was scattered after a whistleblower raised the alarm, triggering a huge outcry among Kenyans. Although the primary call by Kenyans was for the government to announce an open, public bidding to attract investors without secret-single sourcing, there have been general disinterest in revamping the airport.
