Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome, eTN Africa Correspondent Mar 25, 2016
The main airfield in the Masai Mara, Keekorok, will be closed for major maintenance effective Tuesday, March 29. This follows a short closure last year, when emergency repairs were carried out on the runway. The date was reportedly agreed upon with lodge and camp operators, so that the upcoming closure should not impact on the long Easter weekend and the added traffic expected over this holiday.
Both Air Kenya and Safarilink, the two main scheduled airlines flying from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara several times a day, will use the Olkiombo Airstrip during the time of the closure of the Keekorok facility . They have asked media to make this information widely available.
Not only more and more tourists, but also locals, prefer to fly to Kenya’s national parks and game reserves to spend the maximum amount of time in the wilderness, rather than waste valuable vacation time on lengthy and often uncomfortable road transfers. Though several other camps and lodges have their own smaller strips, the Keekorok airfield is one of several main entry points for arrivals by air, serving several lodges and tented camps in the vicinity.
As yet, the date by which the work at the Keekorok airfield will be completed has not been made known.
