Eldoret International Airport

Eldoret International Airport is the third international airport of Kenya alongside Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta (NBO) and Mombasa's Moi (MBA), serving Eldoret — the county capital of Uasin Gishu and Kenya's fifth-largest urban area — and the broader Rift Valley highlands. Located 11 mi (18 km) south of Eldoret at an exceptionally high 6,941 ft (2,116 m) elevation just north of the equator, the airport ranks among the highest commercial airports in East Africa and is a defining factor in its operations — the reduced air density produces measurable takeoff-roll extensions and weight-limit implications for loaded widebody operations. Opened in 1996, the airport was purpose-built to support horticultural and floricultural exports from the Rift Valley directly to European markets. The airport handles 7 routes across 4 destinations through 4 airlines. Kenya Airways, Jambojet, Fly540, and Safarilink provide scheduled domestic services with dominant flows to Nairobi — the heavy shuttle market linking the Rift Valley economy to the Kenyan capital. International scheduled passenger service remains intermittent, but Eldoret's most significant operations are cargo charters: the airport handles freighter operations exporting flowers, French beans, snow peas, and other high-value perishables directly to Amsterdam, Liège, London, and other European gateways during harvest windows. This cargo-export role makes Eldoret disproportionately important relative to its passenger traffic profile. The single asphalt runway 08/26 measures 11,480 ft (3,500 m), an exceptionally long runway specified to compensate for the severe density-altitude performance penalty at nearly 7,000 ft (2,100 m) elevation. The airport is operated by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA). Eldoret is also widely known as the 'City of Champions' — the Kalenjin-dominated highland region is the home training base of Kenya's elite distance runners, producing a disproportionate share of the world's marathon and middle-distance gold medalists and generating a steady inbound flow of international athletes and training camps.