Nairobi Airport Mini Guide
Nairobi Airport is also known as Jomo Kenyatta Airport, in which derives its name from Kenya's first president. In 2007 the airport handled 4,861,706 passengers from domestic and international flights making it the sixth busiest in the whole of Africa. Once collecting your hire car from Nairobi Airport, there are excellent transport links to the city and surroundings. The most popular and easiest route to the centre of Nairobi is the
Mombasa Highway. Once exiting the airport this road is clearly signposted, the city is around 18 kilometres away and again is clearly signposted.
The airport has flights handled by approximately 49 different airlines, all of which land and depart from three main areas within the main terminal. These include the first and second unit where international flights are handled. The third unit is used for domestic flights and arrivals. Also within the airport is an old terminal which is used by the Kenyan Air force.
Due to flights connecting to destinations such as
Europe and the Far East there are a wide range of airlines such as Air India, KLM, British Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines. Within the airport passengers can find a wide range of amenities. These include Beth International Limited, Glamour House and Kenya Wine Agencies which are all duty free shops located on the first floor. Those arriving late or awaiting a flight can find hotels nearby such as the Grand Regency on the Uhuru Highway and the Hilton on Mama Ngina Street.
Nairobi city has a lot of interesting things for the tourist to see. Hire a car and visit the memorial on the site of the American Embassy that was bombed by Al Qaeda in 1998. Whilst not quite as poignant as Ground Zero, over 200 people lost their lives here.
From the memorial, travel across town to the National Museum which has very informative and accessible displays on the history of the country. The museum itself is celebrating its 100th anniversary and so is part of the country’s history itself.