African Airports:Kisumu Airport Set for Revival

Following the recent $40 million upgrade,Kisumu Airport(KIS) looks set to regain its past glory.The Airport was used extensively during World War two to service British troops battling the Italian troops in East Africa!

The Airport, was built in the 1930s on the shores of Lake Victoria to the North West of Kisumu City. Among the first Airlines to use it were the Imperial Airways and the newly formed South African Airways which used to deliver airmail bags and passengers between South Africa and the then Imperial British East Africa(now Kenya).
The kind of flying boats operated by Imperial Airways that first landed in Kisumu in 1937


A major regional hub in the 60s and 70s in the heydays of the East African Airways,Kisumu's demise came with split of the East African Airways in 1977 leading to the formation of Kenya Airways,Uganda Airlines and Air Tanzania.

With its recent upgrade into an international airport,prospects for Kisumu and the entire Western region have been enhanced considerably and the region is set to reclaim its commercial and geographical pre-eminence as an aviation hub.A big setback is the region's fledgling tourist industry meaning air transport is still not in very high demand as compared to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Moi International Airport in Mombasa.



The Airport currently handles seven scheduled airlines operating between Kisumu– Nairobi, Kisumu-Eldoret- Nairobi, and Kisumu-Entebbe. These airlines are Kenya Airways, East African Safari Express, Jet link, Executive Turbine, Lake Vic. Aviation, ALS and Fly 540 Aviation.
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