Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is the 2nd fastest growing airport in the word cargo ranking. This has been revealed in the Airports Council International(ACI) latest World Airport Traffic Report, which highlights top airports for passengers, cargo and aircraft movements and showcases the world’s fastest-growing airports for 2018.
JKIA was ranked 2nd in the ‘Fastest Growing Airports (Handing over 250,000 metric tons of air cargo)’ category, after handling over 342,000 metric tons of air cargo in 2018, a 25% growth from the what was reported in the year 2017.
JKIA has recently witnessed a significant boost in air cargo traffic to and from Europe, Asia, America, and most recently China and Australia. This is what has culminated in JKIA being an emerging force and destination in the air cargo industry.
Through deliberate planning and embracing public and private sector participation, the airport has registered a steady transformation in the way air cargo is managed.
In the last few years, JKIA has seen the entry of several modern transit sheds, increasing it’s annual overall cargo to 1.2million tons. Michaell Cotts, a leading cargo and logistics company, is currently constructing its new shed at JKIA, once complete, the new development is expected to inject an additional annual capacity of 150,000 metric tons at the airport.
Astral Aviation, a cargo airline operating from JKIA has in the last year acquired three Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft to boost its freight capacity and expand its network.
“This award validates our ongoing efforts in improving facilities at the JKIA Cargo area. I would like to congratulate all our stakeholders for their collective and ongoing efforts in making this possible.” Andersen noted.
“This is an exciting time for Kenya, the face of cargo is changing, and we are positioning JKIA as the premier cargo distribution center for online commerce companies in the region,” he added.
Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), a State Corporation that is charged with the responsibility of providing and managing a coordinated system of airports in Kenya.
Established in 1991 through an Act of Parliament, KAA facilitates infrastructure for aviation services between Kenya and the outside world, currently running 4 international airports, 6 domestic airports and 9 airstrips.
