# Nairobi Wilson Airport (WIL / HKNW)

**Nairobi Wilson Airport** (IATA: WIL, ICAO: HKNW) is a medium airport in Nairobi, Nairobi City County, Kenya. It opened in 1933. It has 2 runways; the longest is 1,540 m (5,052 ft). It is operated by Kenya Airports Authority. In 2019 it handled 854 thousand passengers.

Web page: https://dromopedia.com/airports/hknw

## At a glance

- IATA / ICAO: WIL / HKNW
- Type: Medium airport
- Operator: Kenya Airports Authority
- Serves: Nairobi, Nairobi City County, Kenya
- Opened: 1933
- Elevation: 1,687 m / 5,536 ft
- Coordinates: -1.3217, 36.8148
- Runways: 2
- Longest runway: 1,540 m / 5,052 ft
- Passengers: 854,000 (2019)
- Time zone: UTC+3 · Africa/Nairobi
- Website: https://www.kaa.go.ke/airports/our-airports/wilson-airport/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Airport (18 languages)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1049288
- Weather station: HKNW · WMO 63742
- Ident: HKNW

## Timeline

- 1933: Nairobi Wilson Airport opens.

## Runways

| Ident | Length | Width | Surface | True headings | Lighted |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 14/32 | 1,540 m / 5,052 ft | 23 m / 76 ft | Asphalt | 134° / 314° |  |
| 07/25 | 1,462 m / 4,798 ft | 22 m / 72 ft | Asphalt | 070° / 250° | yes |

- 07/25 slopes 1.4%: threshold 25 at 1,670 m / 5,479 ft, threshold 07 at 1,690 m / 5,546 ft.

## Passengers per year

| Year | Passengers | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2010 | 243,000 | Wikidata |
| 2011 | 300,000 | Wikidata |
| 2012 | 295,000 | Wikidata |
| 2013 | 327,000 | Wikidata |
| 2014 | 325,000 | Wikidata |
| 2015 | 331,000 | Wikidata |
| 2016 | 413,000 | Wikidata |
| 2017 | 528,000 | Wikidata |
| 2018 | 846,000 | Wikidata |
| 2019 | 854,000 | Wikidata |

## Routes

21 destinations in 3 countries. From the airport's Wikipedia article.

### Year-round (21)

- [NYK](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hknl.md) Nanyuki Civil Airport · Kenya · 142 km / 88 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [ASV](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkam.md) Amboseli Airport · Kenya · 155 km / 96 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [KE-0052](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ke-0052.md) Lewa Airstrip · Kenya · 184 km / 114 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [MRE](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkms.md) Mara Serena Lodge Airstrip · Kenya · 201 km / 125 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [UAS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hksb.md) Samburu Airport · Kenya · 221 km / 137 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [ILU](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkkl.md) Kilaguni Airport · Kenya · 225 km / 140 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [ARK](https://dromopedia.com/airports/htar.md) Arusha Airport · Tanzania · 228 km / 142 mi · Flightlink
- [JRO](https://dromopedia.com/airports/htkj.md) Kilimanjaro International Airport · Tanzania · 236 km / 147 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [EDL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkel.md) Eldoret International Airport · Kenya · 260 km / 162 mi · Skyward Airlines
- [KIS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkki.md) Kisumu International Airport · Kenya · 270 km / 168 mi · Renegade Air, Safarilink Aviation
- [HKHB](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkhb.md) Homa Bay Airport · Kenya · 272 km / 169 mi · Renegade Air
- [KTL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkkt.md) Kitale Airport · Kenya · 328 km / 204 mi · Skyward Airlines
- [MYD](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkml.md) Malindi International Airport · Kenya · 422 km / 262 mi · Skyward Airlines
- [MBA](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkmo.md) Moi International Airport · Kenya · 432 km / 268 mi · Skyward Airlines, Safarilink Aviation
- [UKA](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkuk.md) Ukunda Airstrip · Kenya · 450 km / 280 mi · Skyward Airlines, Safarilink Aviation
- [LAU](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hklu.md) Manda Airport · Kenya · 467 km / 290 mi · Skyward Airlines, Safarilink Aviation
- [WJR](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkwj.md) Wajir Airport · Kenya · 498 km / 309 mi · Renegade Air
- [KWY](https://dromopedia.com/airports/kwy.md) Kiwayu Airport · Kenya · 503 km / 313 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [EBB](https://dromopedia.com/airports/huen.md) Entebbe International Airport · Uganda · 509 km / 316 mi · Safarilink Aviation
- [LOK](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hklo.md) Lodwar Airport · Kenya · 512 km / 318 mi · Skyward Airlines
- [ZNZ](https://dromopedia.com/airports/htza.md) Abeid Amani Karume International Airport · Tanzania · 607 km / 377 mi · Safarilink Aviation

## Airlines

The figure is how many destinations each airline flies from WIL, as the routes above have them. Hubs from Wikidata.

### Hub airlines (6)

- F2 [Safarilink Aviation](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/safarilink-aviation) · 14
- FE [748 Air Services](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/748-air-services)
- P2 [Airkenya Express](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/airkenya-express)
- K4 [ALS – Aircraft Leasing Services](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/als-aircraft-leasing-services)
- BBZ [Bluebird Aviation](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/bluebird-aviation)
- Z9 [Delta Connection](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/delta-connection-dcp)

### Passenger (3)

- OW [Skyward Airlines](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/skyward-airlines) · 7
- RNG [Renegade Air](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/renegade-air) · 3
- YS [Flightlink](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/flightlink) · 1

Former hub of [CMC Aviation](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/cmc-aviation), [Silverstone Air](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/silverstone-air).

## Rankings

Ranked among 48,075 open airports; = marks a shared place.

| Measure | Value | World | Region | Country |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Passengers | 854K (2019) | #892 of 3,974 | #53 in Africa | #3 in KE |
| Longest runway | 1,540 m / 5,052 ft | =6,219 of 29,858 | =631 in Africa | #12 in KE |
| Elevation | 1,687 m / 5,536 ft | =1,426 of 43,403 | #200 in Africa | #84 in KE |
| Age | Opened 1933 | =521 of 15,079 | #21 in Africa | #4 in KE |
| Runways | 2 | =715 of 29,978 | =24 in Africa | =2 in KE |

## Radio frequencies

| Type | Description | MHz |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TWR | WILSON TWR | 118.100 |

## Nearby airports

- [HKRE](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkre.md) Moi Air Base · 7.2 km / 4.5 mi
- [NBO](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hkjk.md) Jomo Kenyatta International Airport · 13 km / 7.8 mi
- [NUU](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hknk.md) Nakuru Lanet Airport · 135 km / 84 mi
- [NYK](https://dromopedia.com/airports/hknl.md) Nanyuki Civil Airport · 142 km / 88 mi

## Sources

- [NOAA Aviation Weather Center](https://aviationweather.gov/data/api/): Weather data: NOAA Aviation Weather Center (Public Domain (US Government))
- [OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/data/): Airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org): Structured data from Wikidata (CC0 1.0)
- [Wikipedia: “Wilson Airport”](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilson_Airport&oldid=1363087767), revision of 7 Jul 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [timezone-boundary-builder](https://github.com/evansiroky/timezone-boundary-builder): Time zone boundaries © OpenStreetMap contributors, timezone-boundary-builder (ODbL 1.0)
- Every figure with its source: https://dromopedia.com/airports/hknw/data