Diani Airport Upgrade Is Set To Boost Coastal Tourism Growth Of Kenya

Published on August 10, 2025 |

Diani Airport, antecedently Ukunda Airstrip, is facing a awesome upgrade that holds nan committedness of opening up caller tourism successful nan Kenyan coast. The upgrade activity has nan installation being transformed into a location airdrome pinch a capacity to person bigger aircraft, much aerial routes, and to make nan region unfastened to a larger number of domestic, regional, and yet world tourists.

Given that nan task is already 90% done, nan Diani Airport will beryllium a halfway tourism hub successful nan area. The airdrome features immoderate cardinal upgrades, including a caller taxiway, improved drainage, much aircraft-capacity apron, and a longer runway tin of holding mid-sized aircrafts specified arsenic nan Bombardier Q400. The upgrades are intended to accommodate higher frequencies of flights, particularly from home carriers for illustration Jambojet and Safarilink.

Accessibility and New Routes to Open up nan Region

The upgrade addresses a longstanding situation for Kenya’s tourism sector—accessibility. The caller runway extension and improved accommodation now make it imaginable for planes to onshore much easily, pinch more formation routes expected to unfastened up, including imaginable connections from Eldoret, Kisumu, Kitale, and moreover celebrated national parks for illustration Maasai Mara and Amboseli.

According to Håvar Bauck, laminitis of HotelOnline, nan semipermanent extremity is to elevate Diani Airport to international status, enhancing its connectivity to cardinal location and world destinations. As it stands, travelers presently request to alert into Bali aliases Jakarta and past make connecting flights to Labuan Bajo. However, nan accrued entree will now make Diani a much viable and charismatic action for world and home travelers alike.

The Importance of Liberalizing Kenya’s Air Access Policy

While nan infrastructure improvements astatine Diani Airport are a awesome measurement forward, Bauck and different manufacture leaders be aware that Kenya’s aerial entree policy still needs to beryllium liberalized. Bauck highlighted that nan protectionist policies presently favoring national carriers discourage competition and support ticket prices higher than they request to be, limiting route options.

He pointed to Zanzibar arsenic a premier illustration of nan affirmative effect that an unfastened skies argumentation tin have, wherever airfare prices person importantly decreased, and tourist arrivals person surged. Emphasized that a akin attack successful Kenya could greatly use nan tourism sector by making recreation much affordable and accessible.

Investments successful Other Coastal Airports Needed

The description of Diani Airport is conscionable 1 portion of nan broader effort to amended tourism infrastructure on nan Kenyan coast. Other airports, specified arsenic Malindi, are still underperforming owed to poor connectivity. Malindi Airport, erstwhile considered a imaginable tourism hub, is still constricted by its inability to grip direct world flights.

Monika Solanki, Chair of nan Kenya Association of Tour Operators Coast, emphasized nan request to upgrade Malindi to accommodate world flights, which would importantly trim down connected recreation clip for visitors visiting Watamu aliases Malindi. Currently, Italian charter flights onshore successful Mombasa, requiring road transfers to nan coastal destinations, often taking 2 to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, Mombasa’s Moi International Airport is besides successful request of transformation. Solanki pointed retired that a caller terminal comparable to Zanzibar’s Terminal 3 could thief revitalize nan airport, elevating nan wide acquisition for travelers. “The existent facility is outdated and uninspiring. A modern terminal would grip larger volumes of passengers and amended nan cognition of Mombasa arsenic a world tourism gateway,” Solanki suggested.

The Bigger Picture: Sustainable Tourism Development

Beyond airport upgrades, making nan Kenyan coast a globally competitory tourism destination will require a much holistic approach. Professionalism successful work delivery, amended regulation of formation vendors, and creative municipality planning are each basal components of this vision.

A Vision for Kenya’s Coastal Tourism Future

Diani Airport keeps processing and different coastal airports specified arsenic Malindi and Mombasa get upgraded, Kenya’s tourism manufacture tin go much accessible, diverse, and competitory internationally. Enhancements successful aerial connectivity, value of services, and infrastructure are cardinal to making nan Kenyan seashore a competitory destination for some high-end visitors and experiential travelers.

By emphasizing sustainable tourism, airdrome capacity description , and section system upgradation, Kenya is making a awesome leap to go 1 of nan astir salient tourism destinations successful Africa pinch its practice shores preserved for generations to come.