Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (IATA: NBO, ICAO: HKJK), is an international airport in Nairobi, the capital of and largest city in Kenya. Located in the Embakasi suburb 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Nairobi's central business district, the airport has scheduled flights to destinations in over 50 countries. Originally named Embakasi Airport, the airport's name was changed in 1978 to honor Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president and prime minister. The airport served over 7 million passengers in 2016, making it the seventh busiest airport in passenger traffic on the continent. Plans for the airport were drawn up in 1953, work started in January 1954, and by mid-1957 it was found possible to bring the operational date forward to mid-March 1958. On Sunday 9 March 1958, Embakasi Airport (now JKIA) was opened by the last colonial governor of Kenya, Sir Evelyn Baring. The airport was due to be opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; however, she was delayed in Australia. The 3,048 metres (10,000 ft) runway at the then Embakasi Airport was a big improvement on Eastleigh's 2,432 metres (7,979 ft) murram runway, which in the rainy months was unsuitable for Britannias. In 1972, the World Bank approved funds for further expansion of the airport, including a new international and domestic passenger terminal building, the airport's first dedicated cargo and freight terminal, new taxiways, associated aprons, On 14 March 1978, construction of the current terminal building was completed on the other side of the airport's single runway and opened by President Kenyatta. The airport was again renamed, this time in honour of President Kenyatta after his death about five months later on 22 August 1978. In February 2017, the airport was awarded a Category One Status by the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, thus allowing possible direct flights between the US and Nairobi.
