Wilson Airport is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It has flights to many regional airports in Kenya while Nairobi's main airport,

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , is an international airport in Nairobi, the capital of and largest city in Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include the Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airp ...

, serves domestic and many international destinations.

Location

Wilson Airport, is in

Nairobi County Nairobi City County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. With a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, it is the third smallest yet the most populous of the counties, also serving as the capital of Kenya. In 2013, the county entity was eff ...

, in the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the largest metropolitan centre in that country. It lies approximately , by road, south of the central business district. Nearby suburbs include

Langata Lang'ata is a predominantly middle-class residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonka, Mad ...

South C South C (also known as Southside or South Compton) is a middle-class residential estate located in the southland area of Nairobi. South C lies next to Wilson Airport. It is bordered by South B to the East, Langata Estate to the west and the Nairo ...

, and

Kibera Kibera (Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa.http://www.dominionpa ...

. This location is approximately , by road, west of

, the largest civilian airport in the country. The coordinates of Wilson airport are:1° 19' 12.00"S, 36° 48' 54.00"E (Latitude:-1.320000; Longitude:36.815000).

Overview

The airport serves domestic and international traffic. It is used mostly by general aviation traffic. Industries that use Wilson Airport extensively include tourism, health care and agriculture. Wilson Airport averages traffic of around 120,000 landings and take-offs annually.

Airkenya Airkenya Express is an airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates domestic scheduled and charter services, as well as scheduled flights to Tanzania. Its main base is Wilson Airport, Nairobi. History Airkenya Express was formed and started o ...

and other small airlines use Wilson Airport for scheduled domestic passenger services, instead of

. Missionary aviation operators AMREF,

Mission Aviation Fellowship Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indi ...

(MAF) and AIM AIR use Wilson Airport as their airport base on the African continent. It is used also for flight training. The airport is under the supervision of

Kenya Airports Authority Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is the owner and operator of nine civilian airports and airstrips in Kenya. Kenya Airports Authority was established by an act of Parliament in 1992, by the ruling Kenya African National Union government. The KAA A ...

(KAA).

As a result of faster check-in times and fewer flight delays, as compared to

, Wilson Airport is commonly used by business executive aircraft for domestic and international travel. Common domestic destinations from Wilson Airport include

Kisumu Airport Kisumu International Airport is an international airport in Kisumu, the third-largest city in Kenya . It is the third-busiest airport in Kenya, the busiest airport in Kenya west of Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Ke ...

Mombasa International Airport Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020 the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International ...

and

Eldoret International Airport Eldoret Airport is an international airport in Kenya. Location Eldoret Airport, , is located in the city of Eldoret, in Uasin Gishu County, in the midwestern Kenya, close to the International border with Uganda. Its location is approximately ...

. At above sea level, Wilson Airport has two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

runways: Runway 1 (heading 07/25) measures long and wide; Runway 2 (heading 14/32) measures long and wide.

History

The airport was established as Nairobi West Aerodrome in 1929, by

Florence Kerr Wilson Florence Kerr Wilson OBE (1879-September 1966) was a pioneer of aviation in East Africa. She founded and operated Wilson Airways Ltd., which operated from airfields in Nairobi from 1929 until the airline was absorbed by the Kenyan military in 1939 ...

, a wealthy widow. Built at a cost of £50,000 (£3.2 million in 2020), Mrs Wilson hired pilot

Tom Campbell Black Tom Campbell Black (December 1899 – 19 September 1936) was an English aviator. He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world-famous aviator when he and C. W. A. Scott won the London to Melbourne Centenary ...

to run the airport. After the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, the airport, its aircraft fleet and its pilots were taken over by the then colonial government and made a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

base until after the war when it continued functioning as a civilian airport. In 1962, it was named Wilson Airport in honor of its founder who died in 1968.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

*On 24 December 1968,

Douglas C-47A The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

5Y-ADI of the Kenya Police Air Wing crashed shortly after takeoff - the incident was deemed caused by inadequately secured cargo. All three people on board were killed. * On 11 October 2019, a Silverstone Air Services

Fokker 50 The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch airc ...

registration 5Y-IZO operating flight 620 to

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

overran the runway on takeoff from Wilson. The aircraft was extensively damaged but there were no fatalities.

References

External links

Location of Nairobi Wilson Airport at Google MapsKenya Airports Authority: Wilson AirportWilson Airport live webcamFlight Training Centre, Wilson Airport, Nairobi: 'Soar Like Eagle'Wilson Airport live webcam (Yellow Wings)Aero Club of East AfricaDying wilson
* * * {{authority control Airports in Kenya Illegal housing Transport in Nairobi