The much-hyped upgrading of Suneka Airstrip will not take off due to logistical challenges of the location, Kenya Airports Authority, (KAA), Acting Managing Director Henry Ogoye has disclosed.

Ogoye said the Airstrip expansion would mean going up to the residential areas and so it is not feasible because it will affect the neighbourhood settlement.

“It means people will have to be relocated, which has cost implications. So, it is not just something to propose or say and do,’’ he explained during the year-end awards of the best performing regional and national airports in Kisumu.

Ogoye said shelving of Suneka expansion is because of the logistical constraints and the humanitarian crisis that the expansion would cause to the beneficiary community.
He disclosed that they had advised the leaders from the community to look for another suitable ground, where the government can construct a new airstrip.

Concerns to upgrade the decades-old facility constructed under the colonial rule, started during the reigns of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kisii leaders led by former Governor James Ongwae had repeatedly prevailed upon the national government to set aside funds for its upgrade. They wanted it to be modernised to allow for commercial flights and to ship cargo from the regional and world markets to and from, including soapstone carving.

Consequently, the former regime had factored Sh1.65 billion to fund its modernisation alongside Mandera, and Malindi. This wasn’t possible for Suneka. “We are in discussion with the region’s leadership and residents and key stakeholders to find a suitable site, before we decommission it,’’ said Ogoye.

The government is currently keen on decommissioning the airstrip and Ogoye confirmed to the media that the decision won’t be reversed.

This is even as local residents led by Peter Oeri asked Kenya to leverage other aviation industry examples and turn the airstrip to a pilot training school.

President William Ruto in his recent visit to the area, budged to the proposed decommissioning of the Suneka Airstrip. He asked the residents to scout for land in Nyangusu, Sironga or Nyamira which is expansive enough to host an airport.

A number of aviation companies have approached the Kisii County government now led by Simba Arati, seeking management rights to run the airstrip.