Murkomen Announces 10 Measures To Transform JKIA

Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen on Tuesday, November 7 announced a raft of measures to improve service delivery at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

In a statement, the CS announced that central to the reforms include a Service Charter requiring all agencies operating at the airport to provide seamless service to passengers under a one-stop shop.

The charter, to be signed at the end of the month, will bring together immigration, customs, police, port health, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) and other service providers under the leadership of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen addressing the media at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on November 7, 2023. /KAA

"We shall also deploy technology to improve screening at the entrance of the airport Passenger Screening Yard (PSY) to end the current practice of passengers alighting at the main gate," stated the CS in part.

The changes to be undertaken include deploying technology to facilitate faster self-check-in and enhancing airport entry and exit by ensuring the company providing parking services increases service booths and deploys faster technology.

Murkomen also revealed that all airlines will be required to upgrade their ticket printing to avoid long queues.

"We shall also deploy technology in the Advance Passenger Information (APS) system to provide prior information on passengers for more efficiency and enhanced security," he added.

Furthermore, passenger facilitation services shall be streamlined to avoid access to the airport by unauthorized persons.

KAA will thus establish a passenger facilitation unit to reduce the number of persons entering the airport in the name of facilitating VIPs. To this end, all access cards shall be withdrawn and screened afresh.

To ensure professionalism, all staff at the airport, that is customs, immigration, port health and the police, will be trained in customer service.

"The police unit service at the airport and other ports of entry shall be facilitated to carry out their duties professionally. We are also considering, in consultation with my Interior colleague Prof Kithure Kindiki,  creating a standalone port of entry police unit complete with its code," the CS went on.

Hand luggage scanners will also be increased to make the process faster, but suspicious luggage shall, however, be tagged, opened and subjected to further examination.

KAA will provide canopies at the airport to shield passengers from the ongoing rains that have been witnessed across the country and work with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to improve drainage.

The Government will also provide bigger and more comfortable seating areas, free Wi-Fi and more charging ports at JKIA while breastfeeding booths will be revamped and made more comfortable for lactating mothers.

"We have also undertaken to ensure that the prices and quality of goods offered by concessionaires such as restaurants are good and up to the standard," he further stated.

A photo of floods witnessed in sections of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on November 6, 2023. /BONIFACE MWANGI