Logistics firm Hala Nairobi has unveiled a luggage service initiative seeking to cut down the waiting queues by travelers landing at or transiting through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Dubbed 'Airport Mtaani’, the service will retrieve the baggage at the belt, clear with the customs at KAA and then deliver the baggage to the passengers' doorstep.
Passengers arriving at JKIA domestically with connecting international flights will also have an opportunity to book luggage storage.
Commenting on the initiative, Airport Mtaani’s operations director Humphrey Mbogo said the company through the service also seeks to create employment opportunities in the luggage handling ecosystem.
On her part, JKIA general manager Selina Gor said the service will revolutionize passenger experiences at the airport.
"The launch will give passengers the choice of arriving at JKIA and immediately leaving once cleared by immigration without having to wait for their luggage which will be delivered to a place of their choosing," Gor said.
She added that the growing popularity of luggage handling services is attributed to the increasing complexity and time constraints of passengers who are traveling.
“Travelers can now bid farewell to the hustle and bustle of dragging heavy luggage when they land at JKIA, they can now enjoy the freedom to effortlessly walk out of the terminal building into their vehicles to their next destination.”
Kenya Airports Authority chairman Caleb Kositany applauded Airport Mtaani services as a revolutionary idea that is well in line with the ambitions of KAA and the government of Kenya, for instance, to expand the airport due to an increase in traffic.
He said the original design of JKIA has been outlived by the ever-increasing passenger numbers.
“At Kenya Airports Authority, we run about 22 airports across the country and we have plans to build a new terminal at JKIA which will be state-of-the-art," Kositany said.
"This airport is 1978 architecture that was designed for two million passengers but currently handles about ten million passengers. This new initiative is Kenyan driven and we hope it expands to other East African countries."
