Kilimanjaro international airport

Kilimanjaro International Airport
Kilimanjaro International Airport is a very important airport for tourists visiting the northern safari circuit of Tanzania. It’s close to several destinations like Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru, Arusha National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Ol Doinyo Lengai Mountain, Moshi, and Arusha towns. It makes it easy for travelers to access the mentioned tourism destinations other than flying to Nyerere International Airport and then driving for long hours from Dar es Salaam.
Kilimanjaro International Airport, also known as KIA or JRO, is a public airport found in Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania and is operated by Kilimanjaro Airport Development Company. Kilimanjaro International Airport is the largest in northern Tanzania by passenger volume and size, covering an area of 110 square kilometers. The airport has also been termed “The gateway to Africa’s wildlife heritage.”
The airport’s tarmacked runway measures 3,600 meters long and 45 meters wide, with the hangar measuring 110 meters long, 23 meters high, and 83 meters wide. Swissport Tanzania provides aircraft loading and offloading services, baggage sorting and delivery, air conditioning, check-in, passenger arrival, boarding, load control, flight operations, baggage sorting and delivery, cold room storage, cargo delivery, aircraft ground power supply, and much more.
Kilimanjaro International Airport primarily serves tourists traveling for leisure in Tanzania, serving destinations on the northern circuit of Tanzania and the Mara region. The airport also handles both regional and international flights, accommodating over 800,000 passengers per year. The airport is located at an elevation of 894 meters.
The airport was opened in December 1971 and was constructed with a long-term loan from the Italian government, with a building cost of $13 million. It became the first airport to be privatized in Africa and can handle large planes, including Boeing 747 and Airbus planes, with a runway of about 12,000 feet long.
Kilimanjaro International Airport is located 50 kilometers from Arusha town and 42 kilometers from Moshi town. Airport taxis are available for hire at the airport, or your travel company will pick you up as soon as you arrive. The charge for taxi hire is $40 to $50 to Moshi and Arusha towns, but you can also use a shared shuttle that is less costly.
Over 15 airlines maintain scheduled passenger and cargo flights to and from Kilimanjaro International Airport. Check-ins and check-outs are made very easy for passengers at the airport. There are gift shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and waiting lounges at the airport.
According to 2014 records, Kilimanjaro International Airport handled 802,731 passengers, of which 45 percent were international passengers, 17 percent were on transit, and 38 percent were domestic passengers. The Netherlands government and Tanzanian government signed a grant agreement to rehabilitate the airport in order to increase its passenger and plane capacity.
There are several outbound flights from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Doha and Amsterdam with stopovers in Dar es Salaam, but all these airlines don’t have rights to transport passengers from their stopover points.