When the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) a few months ago announced their choice of a second catering service provider at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport JKIA), breaking the decades old monopoly of NAS and finally giving airlines a competitive option of renowned quality, no specific time frame was given by either KAA or LSG Sky Chefs.
A source close to the KAA has now confirmed that the authority intends to hand over a parcel of land to the new concessionaire next month to allow construction of a new catering unit to commence. Again, no specific information is available as far as the opening date of the new facility is concerned other than that it will be sometime late next year.
LSG Sky Chefs is a global aviation catering company, initially formed in Germany by Lufthansa, before expanding in leaps and bounds as the company spread their quality services around the world, and many airlines will be switching from NAS to LSG when the new catering unit is operational, to follow their contractual commitments elsewhere and take advantage of volume benefits. LSG’s Kenyan venture is undertaken in the form of a partnership with local investors from Kenya.
It is understood though that the terms of the initial 25-year concession for LSG is giving KAA much greater values and income, compared to the present concession for NAS which still runs a further 8 years before it is due for a renewal. NAS Servair operates catering outlets at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa while LSG, for the time being, will only operate their business at JKIA.
