Nanyuki Airport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Location

Nanyuki Airfield, , is located in Laikipia County, Laikipia District, Rift Valley Province, in the town of Nanyuki

Nanyuki

Nanyuki is a market town in central-east Rift Valley region of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. It is situated just north of the Equator . It was founded in 1907 by British settlers, some of whose descendants still live...

, in the Kenyan East Rift Valley

Rift Valley

In order of specificity, Rift Valley can refer to:*a rift valley in general*the Great Rift Valley*the Rift Valley fever*the valley of the East African Rift*Rift Valley Province, Kenya and border with Uganda...

.

Located on the western foot hills of Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...

, it lies only 8 kilometres (5 mi), south of the Equator

Equator

An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

. It is approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi), by air, north of Nairobi International Airport, the country’s largest civilian airport. The geographic coordinates of this airport are:0° 2' 42.00"N, 37° 1' 48.00"E (Latitude:0.045000; Longitude:37.030000).

Overview

Situated at 1905 metres (6,250 ft) above sea level, the airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

has a single asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

which measures 1200 metres (3,937 ft) in length.

Nanyuki Airfield is a government-owned, privately leased airfield, serving private and commercial air operators. With only one landing strip, the airfield handles mostly small light single engine aircraft and some larger twin aircraft. Most traffic through Nanyuki is routing from Nairobi, carrying tourists to Mara Serena Airport

Mara Serena Airport

Mara Serena Airport is an airport in Masai Mara, Kenya-Location:Mara Serena Airport is located in Masai Mara, in Trans Mara District, Rift Valley Province, in southwestern Kenya, close to the border with Tanzania....

, Samburu Airport

Samburu Airport

-Location:Samburu Airport is located in Samburu National Reserve, Samburu District, Rift Valley Province, near the geographical center of the Republic of Kenya....

, Laikipia, Lewa and Meru

Meru

Meru may refer to:In geography:* Meru, Tanzania, a village in northern Tanzania . It is inhabited by the Meru people of Tanzania, known as the "Wameru" in Bantu** Arumeru District northern Tanzania...

. The airfield is leased by Tropic Air Kenya, offering air charter and helicopter services.

Airlines and destinations

Services

Nanyuki Airfield is open from 6am to 6pm daily, with all traffic reporting to the Nanyuki Air Traffic controller. Aircraft fuel is usually available. Barney’s Restaurant is open from 8am to 5pm daily, serving hot and cold drinks, breakfast, lunch and snacks. The gift shop is also open daily, selling African arts, crafts and gifts.

History and Development

In the late 1960’s the Nanyuki Airfield was originally situated along the Nanyuki - Rumuruti Road. This was a grass airfield, mainly used by small single engine, privately owned aircraft. During the 1970’s the site was purchased by the Kenya government for military and official business – and named the Laikipia Air Base.

The new civil airfield for Nanyuki was allocated along the Nanyuki – Naro Moru road about 10 km, out of Nanyuki town, and was named Nanyuki Civil Airfield. At the time, the airfield was almost entirely used by privately owned small light single engine aircraft. The premises consisted of a tarmac airfield and a small caretakers hut.

In the early 1990’s the airfield became home to Tropic Air Kenya – a small air charter company operating single engine Cessna aircraft and helicopters. Its is also a key airport for Air Kenya, East African Safari Air

East African Safari Air

East African Safari Air is an airline based in Kenya. Its international operations were suspended in September 2004, but the airline still has scheduled regional and domestic services through its subsidiary East African Safari Air Express.-History:...

, and Fly540

Fly540

Fly540 is a low-cost airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates domestic and international passenger and freight services.- History :...

who operate daily schedule services linking with Nairobi, Lewa, Laikipia, Samburu, Meru and the Maasai Mara.

Offices and aircraft facilities have been built, and in order to accommodate the many thousands of passengers that pass through the airfield each year, Tropic Air Kenya established a waiting area, with a restaurant (Barney’s), shop and toilet facilities.

Location

Overview

Airlines and destinations

Services

History and Development

External links

See also