Junk aeroplane crisis hits Wilson Airport operations

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

At least 90 planes belonging to private aviation companies, flying schools and individuals have been abandoned at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, choking available parking space for operational aircraft and costing the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) revenue.

An audit of the country’s second-busiest airport by aircraft movements found that the abandoned aircraft have caused congestion, forcing flight diversions.

It is unlikely that any of the planes will fly again, and KAA has struggled to auction the aircraft in recent years as they accumulate significant parking fees.

The light planes include Cessna 402, Fokker 50, Beechcraft Baron 58, and slightly larger passenger planes such as Bombardier CRJ100s and Dash-8s.

Some are clustered while others sit alone as they increasingly take up space at Wilson Airport, underlining the growing troubles at the facility.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said the grounded aircraft were occupying aircraft parking space meant for operational planes,yet some were not paying parking fees, depriving the KAA of revenue.

“The parking garage for aircraft was congested as a result of ninety grounded aircraft occupying the apron space meant for parking of other aircraft that are operating within the airport,” Ms Gathungu said in an audit report.

“As a result, the airport is losing revenue because some of the grounded aircraft are not paying for the parking fees.”

KAA says it has not managed to dispose of the abandoned aircraft as fast as needed, with just about five being successfully auctioned since 2024, when Wilson had about 70 grounded planes, and it is continuing to seek buyers for the remaining planes.

“It’s a continuous process and more are added with time. We have auctioned some and we’re continuing to seek ways to dispose of the remaining ones,” said a KAA spokesperson.

The parking challenge has compounded several issues surrounding the airport currently, including surging safety risks due to uncontrolled high-rise developments along the airport’s flight path.

The audit also flagged the lack of a terminal building, with a corridor being used in place of a proper terminal facility, and it can only accommodate up to 50 passengers at a time.

The security screening system was also not working fully, and there was also limited parking for cars.

These issues held back the potential of what is one of Kenya’s most crucial air hubs as domestic air travel picks pace.

Wilson handles several scheduled and charter flights, tourism, medical evacuation and flight training.

The airport has also seen a significant increase in aircraft activity in recent years, putting additional pressure on its limited parking capacity.

In the year to June 2025, Wilson handled 83,855 aircraft movements, comprising landings and take-offs, compared with 65,512 in the year to June 2021. This represents a 28 percent increase in four years.

The KAA spokesperson said the increase in aircraft activity has added to the congestion challenge at the airport, alongside the grounded planes occupying valuable space.

The authority has been forced to look beyond Wilson for additional parking, with some aircraft being diverted to Orly Airpark in Olooloitikosh near Kiserian.

KAA has grappled with the junk planes, some of which are no longer airworthy or whose owners are unable or unwilling to remove them. Others have unknown owners.

The State corporation has on several occasions attempted to dispose of the aircraft through public auctions but has struggled to clear the backlog.

It is now planning to dispose of some of the aircraft as scrap metal, especially those that are no longer usable and whose owners are unable to pay the charges.

“Even grounded planes pay for parking. The only ones that don’t pay are the ones whose owners are no longer able to and those ones are no longer usable, and those we can dispose of as scrap metal,” the KAA spokesperson said.

In January 2024, the authority had published a list of abandoned aircraft for auction and floated a tender for an auctioneer to dispose of planes abandoned at different airports across the country.

At the time, KAA identified 92 abandoned aircraft, with Wilson accounting for 70. Another 11 were at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, seven at Lokichoggio Airport in Turkana County and four at Malindi Airport in Kilifi.

The aircraft belonged to a mix of airlines, aviation companies, flying schools, government agencies and private individuals, including the now-defunct Fly540, Skylink, Capital Airline, Bush Air, DAC Aviation, Aerolink, Rudufu, Standard Aviation, Geo Air, Ace Air and Freedom Airlines.

Training institutions including 99 Flying School and Flight Training Centre, as well as institutions such as Moi University and the National Air Support Department, also had grounded aircraft on the list. Individuals, including Khalsi Manghit, were also named among owners.

The latest audit shows that the disposal problem has persisted, with the number of grounded aircraft at Wilson now standing at 90. KAA has not disclosed how many of the aircraft listed for auction in 2024 remain at the airport or how many are newly grounded.

The continued occupation of the apron is particularly significant because Wilson’s aircraft traffic has grown substantially since the Covid-19 period. The growth means operational aircraft are competing for increasingly scarce parking space with planes that are no longer flying.

Aircraft operators are charged parking fees based on the size of the plane. Under the published airport tariff, aircraft weighing up to 10,000kg pay $6 (Sh777) a day, while those weighing more than 300,000kg pay $130 (Sh16,831). The charges apply to aircraft parked for more than six continuous hours.

Operators also pay landing and take-off charges, ranging from $10 (Sh1,290) to $2,100 (Sh271,877) depending on the aircraft's weight and the time of operation.

The revenue loss comes amid dwindling revenues for the airports operator. In the year to June 2025, KAA’s profit nearly halved to Sh3.8 billion, after revenues dropped by about Sh1.1 billion.

Reporting originally appeared via Business Daily. Read the full source for additional context.