🌍 T1A — KQ & SkyTeam Hub (Flagship)

Airlines: Kenya Airways (all flights), KLM, Air France, Delta, China Southern, Saudia, Korean Air, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Turkish, British Airways, Lufthansa, plus most North American and European long-haul carriers.

Vibe: The largest, most modern of the six. Pride Lounge (Gate 17, Level 2) and Simba Lounge inside the airside concourse, plus the Turkish Airlines Lounge for Priority Pass holders.

🛬 T1B / T1C / T1D / T1E + T2

T1B/T1C: regional and other international (RwandAir, South African, Ethiopian, EgyptAir, smaller IATA carriers). T1D: separate building used for charter and overflow long-haul. T1E: regional African and Indian Ocean. T2: domestic and budget — Jambojet, Safarilink, AirKenya for Maasai Mara / Diani / Lamu safari connections.

Vibe: More functional than flagship. T1D is at the far end of the airfield — allow extra time if your boarding pass shows it.

Kenya eTA — $30 USD, Apply 3+ Days Out

Apply at etakenya.go.ke with passport scan, selfie, hotel booking and flight itinerary. $30 USD processing fee. Standard processing 3 business days but can take longer for some nationalities. Once issued, valid 90 days from approval. EAC citizens (Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, South Sudan) are exempt; everyone else needs it including infants.

Yellow Fever Certificate

Required if you have spent more than 12 hours in transit (or arrived from) a yellow fever endemic country in the previous 6 days — most of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America. Vaccination is a single shot, valid for life. Carry the yellow card with you; immigration may ask, especially after a Lagos/Addis/Khartoum connection.

Security & Immigration Lines

Standard X-ray security — liquids out (≤100 ml), laptops out. CT scanners are not yet deployed. Immigration queues at T1A long-haul peak between 06:00–08:00 (KQ Europe wave) and 22:00–01:00 (Asia wave) — allow 30–45 minutes. Kenyan residents and EAC have a separate fast lane with e-gates.

⭐ The Nairobi Expressway — The Game Changer

A 27-km elevated toll road running parallel to Mombasa Road / Uhuru Highway. JKIA → Westlands in 15–20 minutes at any time of day. Toll is automatic ETC (electronic toll collection) — pay via the NETS app or in cash at the manned booths.

📱 Uber, Bolt & Little Cab

All three apps work seamlessly at JKIA with a dedicated rideshare bay. Bolt is typically the cheapest, Uber the most consistent, and Little Cab is the local Kenyan competitor (slightly cheaper than Bolt off-peak). All support cash, M-Pesa or in-app card. The pickup zone is a marked bay 200 metres from arrivals — not the immediate kerb, where unofficial “city taxi” touts wait.

🚕 Official KAA Airport Taxi

Yellow-and-blue taxis at the marked rank outside arrivals. No fixed government rate — fares are negotiable, and the first quote is usually inflated 30–50%. For a foreign passenger, expect to pay KES 2,500–3,500 to Westlands, which is meaningfully more than Bolt or Uber. Cash and M-Pesa accepted; cards usually not.

✨ KQ Pride Lounge (T1A airside, Gate 17, Level 2)

If you eat one Kenyan thing at JKIA, it’s nyama choma — flame-grilled goat or beef, served with ugali (maize meal) and kachumbari (tomato-onion-coriander salad). The Java House outlets at T1A and the Pride Lounge buffet both serve creditable versions. Skip the McDonald’s and Subway; you’re in Kenya for a few hours, eat what the country is famous for.

Kenya is one of the world’s great coffee origins (and the largest African black-tea producer). Java House sells whole-bean Kenyan AA at airport-standard markup but better quality than supermarket city brands. For tea, Kericho Gold bagged tea and WPP loose-leaf are the recognised brands; both make excellent gifts that vacuum-pack into hand luggage.

The T1A airside shops carry hand-beaded Maasai bracelets, leather sandals, and Kisii soapstone carvings. Prices are 2–4× the Maasai Market rate in town — fine if you didn’t make it to the Wednesday or Saturday market in Nairobi. Avoid the “safari big-five” printed t-shirts — they’re mass-produced and identical at every African airport. The beadwork and soapstone are at least authentic.

JKIA has persistent infrastructure problems — recurring power blackouts (the December 2023 nationwide outage shut the airport for hours), occasional baggage-system failures, and roof leaks during heavy rain. The Adani concession was supposed to fix this; its November 2024 collapse leaves KAA running the upgrade in-house. Plan for unplanned delays: build a 1-hour buffer over the standard 3-hour international arrival rule, and download your boarding pass to your phone in case the WiFi falters.

The Great Wildebeest Migration draws roughly 250,000 international safari travellers from late July through early October, with August as the peak. Long-haul wave from London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Doha and Dubai is noticeably busier in those months — fuller security queues, longer immigration, fully-booked Pride Lounge. Book Pride via LoungePair in advance for a guaranteed seat. Plan an extra 30–60 minutes of margin on top of the usual 3-hour international rule.

JKIA has chilled filtered-water dispensers at most washroom blocks airside — these are safe to refill. Tap water from washroom basins is not safe to drink in Nairobi at large, and visitors should stick to sealed bottled water (KES 100–200 at airside kiosks). Bring a refillable bottle for the dispensers.

Kenya runs on M-Pesa — the mobile-money system you’ll need for taxis, restaurants, even some airport vendors. Buy a Safaricom tourist SIM in arrivals (KES 100 SIM + KES 1,000 for a 30-day data + voice bundle) and ask the agent to register M-Pesa for you on the spot — it requires your passport + a Kenyan number. Once registered, top up via M-Pesa for cashless payment everywhere. 4G/5G coverage is excellent across Nairobi.

Nairobi requires more situational awareness than Stockholm or Singapore, but the airport is well-policed. Stick to Uber, Bolt or LittleCab — never accept a kerbside “executive transfer”. The pickup bay is well-lit and CCTV-monitored. After dark, prefer the Expressway over Mombasa Road for safety as well as time. Tourist Police office is in arrivals if you need help.

Most airport vendors accept Visa/Mastercard contactless. Amex and JCB acceptance is patchier — carry a backup. USD is widely accepted at the airport (lounges price in dollars; some kiosks too) but you’ll get a worse-than-market rate. ATMs in the arrivals hall are reliable and dispense KES at the bank rate; withdraw KES from a city ATM for the best value.