Staying Nairobi airport between flights
 

Hello,

With recent tensions in Nairobi, I was hoping it would work to stay in the airport overnight. We'll be arriving from the UK and have a 9hr wait til our flight to Kissumu. Would we be able to get our luggage then wait overnight? The Kissumu flight is seperate form our US to Nairobi ticket.

The NBO airport is still getting its act together since the fire. There are no decent places to sit, most all eateries will be closed overnight, thus no food available. The airport wasn't pleasant even prior the fire... the last place I'd want to hang out.

As you still have to enter the country and obtain Visa, I'd take a hotel nearby for a decent night's sleep, dinner and then return to airport next morning for ongoing flight.

thanks for the reply!

I don't think we'd get a decent night's sleep in a hotel with the stress of being out of our element in the city for a short time. I'm concerned about leaving the airport due to safety reasons and time/convenience. We're bringing a lot of luggage and traveling with inexperienced travelers.

I've pretty much made up my mind to stay at the airport if we're allowed to gt our bags then go back in. That's my main question.

Is the domestic terminal open overnight?

If you had an onward international flight, you'd be able to do what you proposed. I don't know about domestic as I've never flown out of that terminal and have a feeling it's not 24/7.

I was stuck in the Nairobi airport 3 years ago (before the fire) after missing my connecting international flight. It was the airline's fault, they were supposed to supply a room but said they didn't have any. I think there were many problems with flights that day because the airport was filled with hundreds of stranded travelers. I was able to stay overnight in the Kenya Airways lounge, where I and several others were locked in from the outside. If the fire had happened that night, I would have died.

I'm saying this because I really don't think you want to stay in the Nairobi airport overnight, even if it is allowable. And this is from someone who normally doesn't mind camping out in an airport if needed. I don't like the hassle of paying for a hotel for just a few hours, either.

I was lucky enough to stay in the lounge during my stay...if I would have been elsewhere there's a decent chance stuff would have been stolen from my luggage as I slept.

Honestly, I think you're less safe staying in the airport.