Nairobi Airport

Nairobi International Airport in Kenya or to give its full title, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, is the largest airport in East and Central Africa. Located eleven miles to the east of Nairobi, it serves 49 scheduled airlines with direct flights to Europe, the Middle and Far East as well as across the African continent. The airport, originally called Nairobi Embakasi Airport but later renamed after Kenya's first prime minister and president, Jomo Kenyatta, was due to be opened by Queen Elizabeth II, however she was delayed in Australia at the time and the ceremony went ahead in her absence being opened in May 1958 by the last Governor of Kenya, Evelyn Baring. It is one of four main airports in Kenya with the others being Kisumu International Airport (located in western Kenya on the shore of Lake Victoria), Moi International Airport (which serves the city of Mombasa and surrounding communities) and Eldoret International Airport (located in mid-western Kenya close to the border with Uganda).

In the video (below) take a virtual flight and make a landing at Nairobi airport described by passengers as "long, low, confusingly laid out (arriving passengers are released right into the departure lounges), and stuffy. The air is stale and there doesn't seem to be any sort of ventilation system." "Worst airport in world and Kenya Airlines clueless" etc. Our own experiences here at the African Volunteer network were better however you do get the impression you are a suspect under military guard from the moment you arrive to the moment of departure despite a disinterested "have a nice flight" as staff stare suspiciously at your passport as you leave! As you come into land at Nairobi Airport you can also see Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, standing at 19,341 feet above sea level.

Landing at Nairobi

×

---

Nairobi Airport: Volunteer in Kenya Check out all the latest fee paying and free African volunteer work placements and charity work job opportunities abroad with local projects and volunteering organisations in Kenya. More >

---

Nairobi Airport: Nairobi Profile A complete profile of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya in facts, images and video about the east African city. More >

---

---

Nairobi Airport: Child Sponsor Kenya Details of how to sponsor children in Kenya with Kenyan child sponsor organisations, charities, programs and projects. More >

---

Nairobi Airport: Kenya Country Profile In another of our African country profiles, find out all about Kenya in a series of information articles, latest daily news, videos, and images together with volunteering and child sponsorship opportunities. More >

---

---