Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), recognized as East Africa’s busiest airport, has been named Africa’s Leading Airport at the 2024 World Travel Awards.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) stated that this award underscores its commitment to enhancing passenger experience. “This win reflects JKIA’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service, enhancing operational efficiency, and continuously improving the passenger experience,” KAA noted. “We’re proud of our team’s hard work and dedication that made this achievement possible, and we thank all our passengers and partners for their continued support.”
JKIA triumphed over six other airports from various African countries, including Cape Town International Airport (South Africa), Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (Morocco), and Julius Nyerere International Airport (Tanzania). Other competitors included Kigali International Airport (Rwanda), King Shaka International Airport in Durban (South Africa), and O.R. Tambo International Airport (South Africa).
Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards aim to recognize excellence across all key sectors of the travel and hospitality industry. The ceremony, held at Diamonds Leisure Beach & Golf Resort in Diani Beach on Friday, October 18, also saw Kenya Airways win three awards: Africa’s Leading Airline 2024, Africa’s Leading Airline-Business Class 2024, and Africa’s Leading Airline Brand 2024. Additionally, Nairobi was awarded Africa’s Leading Business Travel Destination 2024, while Tanzania was named Africa’s Leading Destination.
The award comes amid controversy surrounding the proposal by the Kenyan government to lease JKIA to Indian Conglomerate Adani Airport Holdings for 30 years to undergo renovation.
Through a Public-private partnership (PPP) deal, Adani will pour Ksh.238 billion to upgrade the airport by building a new passenger terminal, refurbishing the existing terminals, constructing a second runway and enhancing cargo handling facilities among other changes.
The opaque nature of the details surrounding the Adani-JKIA takeover has, however, caused the public to oppose the agreement, with various court cases filed seeking to prevent the deal.
While defending the deal, the government has assured Kenyans that the Adani proposal is still under review and no signed deal is in place.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all terms and conditions of the proposed arrangement are subject to negotiations in accordance with the provisions of the PPP Act and no terms have been agreed upon as yet,” Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi said last month.
