Out of the Second World War emerged a small airstrip, developed for military use. It had two runways, a short one supported by a along one which stretched 1.5 km, capable of serving DC and similar aircrafts. Given such limitations, the airport could only adequately serve regional operations, international flights required en-route refuelling. The airports could not therefore attract international chartered tourist flights.
Despite the said inhibitions, the region remained attractive to tourist and it eventually required that the airport be developed to handle long haul international flights. Subsequently, a project was undertaken jointly by the Governments of Japan and Kenya between 1974 and 1977.
The airport was expanded to accommodate B747 aircrafts and a new passenger terminal was built covering 15,000 square meters. Presently the airport can accommodate an A340.
The airport was upgraded to international status in 1978 and the former Port Reitz Airport became Moi International Airport, named after the Second President of Kenya, and is the second largest airport in Kenya, in the second largest city in Kenya, Mombasa, a favoured tourist destination.
The airport achieved tremendous traffic growth with more than eighteen airlines flying directly from and to Europe, and offering connections to over twenty cities in the region.
In the late 1980’s the traffic growth had exerted so much pressure on the existing facilities that the need for expansion and modernization became eminent. The existing passenger terminal could no be effectively expanded to accommodate the growth.
In 1994, the Governments of Japan and Kenya constructed a second terminal which was completed in 1996.
Local Time: 04:24 AM | GMT: 01:24 AM | Aug 01, 2010
