Private vehicles will soon be restricted from entering the main terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as part of urgent measures to relieve overcrowding and create space for terminal expansion.
Under the proposed changes, only airport-authorised taxis and ride-hailing vehicles will be allowed to access the circular terminal area, while private cars will be rerouted to the long-term parking zone for drop-offs and pick-ups.
Consultants from Sidara, who are leading the redesign, explained that freeing the main terminal driveway will allow for immediate expansion, adding new check-in counters and security screening points.
The upgrades aim to boost JKIA’s handling capacity from 7.5 million passengers a year to 12 million, easing the congestion that has grown increasingly severe in recent years.
“This temporary parking [inside the main terminal area] will now only be used by airport taxis and digital taxis, while private cars will be allowed to pick up or drop off outside,” a Sidara representative said during a stakeholder engagement meeting. Under the revised layout, private vehicles will no longer enter the terminal circle, a departure from long-standing practices.
The redesign also includes merging Terminals 1B and 1C to form a single, larger facility that will manage all international departures, including flights operated by Kenya Airways and its SkyTeam partners.
Meanwhile, Terminal 1E, currently handling some international arrivals, will be closed, and its functions moved to Terminal 1A, which serves KQ and airlines like KLM and Emirates.
Terminal 1D, used for domestic flights, is currently the most overcrowded facility, having handled 1.8 million passengers last year—over three times its designed capacity of 500,000. Terminal 1A also exceeded its limits, processing four million passengers against a capacity of 2.5 million. Only Terminals 1B and 1C were operating within their intended thresholds.
The immediate adjustments are the first stage in a broader plan to turn JKIA into a modern, world-class airport.
Plans include the development of an airport city and a special economic zone within the airport precincts. Longer-term upgrades, including a new terminal and runway, are projected to increase the airport’s total capacity to 22.3 million passengers by 2029.
In tandem, the Kenya Airports Authority is developing its own digital platform for airport taxis, designed to compete with Uber and Bolt. The app will allow passengers to book authorised taxis via mobile app, web portal, or on-site kiosks, providing real-time fare estimates, vehicle tracking, and trip notifications.
“The overall objective is to design, develop, deploy, and support an official JKIA Airport Digital App, initially focused on regulated taxi booking and ground transport management, and architected as a modular, extensible platform capable of supporting multiple airport commercial and operational services,” the authority disclosed while seeking a consultant to develop the system. The platform will also automate driver allocation and manage terminal queues efficiently.
