Wilson Airport

Wilson Airport
Wilson Airport
	Aerial view of Wilson Airport
	IATA: WIL; ICAO: HKNW;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Kenya Airports Authority
Serves	Nairobi
Location	Lang'ata, Nairobi, Kenya
Opened	1929; 96 years ago
Hub for	Aircraft Leasing Services; Airkenya Express; Baracuda Airways; Fly-SAX; Safarilink;
Elevation AMSL	1,690 m / 5,546 ft
Coordinates	01°19′12″S 36°48′54″E / 1.32000°S 36.81500°E
Map
	WIL Location of Wilson Airport in Kenya; Placement on map is approximate
Runways
Statistics (2017)
Passenger numbers
Passenger numbers	528,000

Wilson Airport (IATA: WIL, ICAO: HKNW) is an airport in Nairobi, Kenya. It has flights to many regional airports in Kenya while Nairobi's main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, serves domestic and many international destinations.

Location

Wilson Airport, is in Nairobi County, in the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the largest metropolitan centre in that country. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), by road, south of the central business district.^[2] Nearby suburbs include Langata, South C, and Kibera.

This location is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi), by road, west of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the largest civilian airport in the country.^[3]

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 and other small airlines use Wilson Airport for scheduled domestic passenger services, instead of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Missionary aviation operators AMREF, Mission Aviation Fellowship (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 (KAA).

As a result of faster check-in times and fewer flight delays, as compared to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson Airport is commonly used by business executive aircraft for domestic and international travel. Common domestic destinations from Wilson Airport include Kisumu Airport, Mombasa International Airport and Eldoret International Airport.

At 5,546 feet (1,690 m) above sea level,^[4] Wilson Airport has two asphalt runways: Runway 1 (heading 07/25) measures 4,798 feet (1,462 m) long and 72 feet (22 m) wide; Runway 2 (heading 14/32) measures 5,052 feet (1,540 m) long and 76 feet (23 m) wide.^[5]

History

The airport was established as Nairobi West Aerodrome in 1929 by Florence Kerr Wilson, a wealthy widow. Built at a cost of £50,000 (£3.2 million in 2020), Mrs Wilson hired pilot Tom Campbell Black to run the airport. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the airport, its aircraft fleet and its pilots were taken over by the then colonial government and made a Royal Air Force base until after the war when it continued functioning as a civilian airport. In 1962, it was named Wilson Airport in honour of its founder who died in 1968.^[6]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Airkenya Express	Amboseli, Kilimanjaro, Lamu, Lewa Downs, Maasai Mara, Malindi, Meru, Nanyuki, Samburu, Ukunda/Diani Beach
Renegade Air	Kisumu
Safarilink	Amboseli, Kilaguni, Kilimanjaro, Kiwayu, Lamu, Lewa Downs, Maasai Mara, Mombasa, Naivasha, Nanyuki, Samburu, Ukunda/Diani Beach, Zanzibar
Skyward Express	Eldoret, Kakamega, Kitale, Lamu, Lodwar, Malindi, Mombasa, Ukunda/Diani Beach

Accidents and incidents

On 24 December 1968, a Douglas C-47A 5Y-ADI of the Kenya Police Air Wing crashed shortly after takeoff. The incident was attributed to inadequately secured cargo. All three people on board were killed.^[7]
On 11 October 2019, a Silverstone Air Services Fokker 50 registration 5Y-IZO operating flight 620 to Mombasa, Kenya, overran the runway on takeoff from Wilson. The aircraft was extensively damaged but there were no fatalities.^[8]
On 5 March 2024, a Safarilink Aviation de Havilland Dash 8-300, registration 5Y-SLK, shortly after takeoff from Wilson collided with a Cessna 172, registration 5Y-NNJ, operated by a local flying school. The Cessna crashed and the two occupants were killed. The Dash 8 had minor damage and landed back at Wilson with no casualties.^[9]