Wilson Airport runway revamp leaves airlines counting losses

Airlines operating at Wilson Airport say they have suffered losses running into hundreds of millions of shillings as delayed runway rehabilitation works continue to disrupt aviation operations.

With the tourism industry entering its peak season, the aviation sector is increasingly concerned that these losses will balloon in the coming months.

A recent progress brief by industry players operating at the airport highlights a sharp, sustained rise in operational costs.

Preliminary data from three major Wilson Airport-based operators reveal cumulative losses already estimated at $4.8 million (Sh620 million).

According to the report, the ongoing financial strain stems directly from disruptions from the rehabilitation of one of the runways aimed at resolving the constrained airport conditions.

The current situation has forced airlines to absorb substantial extra expenses across their daily operations occasioned by reduced operational efficiency, flight delays, forgone business opportunities and the additional costs of sustaining operations under constrained airport conditions.

The brief noted that “the combination of extended operational constraints and missed project timelines continues to severely impact airlines and aviation service providers”. The report on the financial losses follows recent concerns by stakeholders regarding the quality of the ongoing infrastructure. 

Runway 07/25 was taken out of service to facilitate rehabilitation works. Following the closure, all operations were consolidated onto runway 14/32, effectively placing the busy aviation hub under single-runway operations.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) last year embarked on the rehabilitation of the runway.

KAA at the time noted that the “runway, taxiways and aprons have deteriorated significantly, with an outdated airfield ground lighting system and obsolete equipment that no longer meet modern aviation standards”.

The rehabilitation works started in September last year and were expected to take 18 months. The works would see the runway’s width expanded “from 23 metres to 30 metres” as well as length extended “from 1,560 metres to 1,720 metres”.

The longer runway is expected to enable landing and take off of bigger aircraft at Wilson Airport.

One Wilson Airport-based operator explained that the financial burden has been exacerbated by the requirement for some operators to maintain split operations between Wilson Airport and JKIA during the rehabilitation period.

Operators whose primary base is Wilson have been forced to acquire additional space at JKIA, deploy personnel across both airports and invest in duplicate operational systems to manage coordination between the two facilities. 

“What was previously a single-base operating model has, in many cases, evolved into a dual-airport structure requiring additional staffing, logistics coordination, administrative overheads and increased supervision costs. These costs were not anticipated at the outset of the project and continue to accumulate as timelines extend beyond initial expectations,” said the operator. 

 The strain comes against the backdrop of an aviation sector already under severe cost pressure, given the ongoing geopolitical issues.

Aviation fuel prices have risen sharply in recent years, and while the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026, reduced VAT on petrol and diesel to eight per cent, Jet A-1 and aviation gasoline continue to attract the standard rate of 16 per cent.  The sector players also want the National Treasury to extend equivalent relief to aviation, a sector they argue is a critical enabler of tourism, trade, humanitarian operations and regional connectivity, yet one that remains outside the scope of recent tax reforms.

Industry stakeholders question the continued tax disparity, arguing that aviation remains a critical enabler of tourism, trade, humanitarian operations and regional connectivity, yet is not receiving comparable fiscal relief, and stakeholders are requesting the Treasury to extend the same relief to aviation fuel.

The aviation sector contributes $1.5 billion (Sh195 billion) to the economy, comprising $740 million (Sh96 billion) from aviation itself, $515 million (Sh67 billion) through indirect activities down the supply chain and $294 million (Sh38 billion) employees’ and stakeholders’ spending, according to Kenya’s national aviation policy.

The sector employs 26,000 people directly and another 104,000 indirectly. 

The disruptions at the airport are becoming more pronounced at a time when the section is heading into a peak high season in the coming weeks, a period that traditionally drives the highest volumes of international arrivals feeding into Kenya’s tourism circuits.

The July–October season is a critical period for safari-bound traffic through Wilson Airport, and continued operational constraints risk eroding earnings at a time when demand is expected to peak.

The operators say that the combined effect of high fuel prices, high taxes on aviation fuel, prolonged single-runway operations, missed project timelines and split-base operations between Wilson and JKIA has created what an airline operator described as an increasingly unsustainable operating environment.

He warned that sustained operational disruptions at Wilson Airport inevitably ripple through the wider economy, affecting tourism operators, hospitality businesses and the broader aviation value chain.

Operators argue that they operate in a fragile environment, and even marginal increases in costs or operational inefficiencies can materially affect viability. African airlines are operating on extremely thin margins.

According to the International Air Transport Association, African airlines are expected to earn an average profit of just $0.40 (Sh52) per passenger in 2026, down from $2.10 (Sh273) in 2025. with net profit margins shrinking to 0.2 per cent.