Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has now reopened the Airport South Road for access to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after it was closed six years ago. 

However, use of the reopened alternative route to JKIA will be limited to the high capacity buses to be launched under the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system announced last week. 

Airport South Road was closed in February 2014 by KeNHA in accordance with schedule 71 (1) of the Traffic Act which speaks on closure of roads coming amid a spike in terror attacks in Kenya that mainly targeted Public Service Vehicles (PSVs). 

Most people going to and leaving JKIA have had to contend with the traffic-prone Mombasa Road even as the passenger and vehicle screening point was also mordernised in the same 2014. 

The decision to re-open the key road comes days after Transport CS James Macharia launched the Nairobi CBD-JKIA express train service to improve movement to and from JKIA. 

The launched service will see passengers board a train at the Nairobi Central Station and be dropped at Embakasi Village before boarding a BRT to compete the journey to the airport. 

The trip will send a user back Sh500 for the journey estimated to take 30 minutes for a trip that costs about Sh150 if one uses public means or approximately Sh400 using taxi hailing services.