I was an American living in Nairobi for six years and flew in and out of Jomo Kenyatta International about a dozen times a year. In terms of organization, I'd say it's not much worse than most other large, very busy international airports. Nairobi, after all, is a major hub and gets flights from all over the world. Staff is also no more or less friendly than a Heathrow or an O'Hare. But space is a problem. JKIA is cramped! There are a couple of places to sit down and get a snack. One of them is the Nairobi Java House, which is a nice chain and sells good, strong, Kenyan coffee, among other things. But because it's so popular, the place is always packed and even SRO before the big evening departures to places like London and Amsterdam. The good news is that Kenya is undertaking a major project to expand and upgrade the airport. I don't know what the timeline is, but someday hopefully the airport will be big enough to handle its workload. And security is much better in Nairobi than in many other African airports. I would expect this to improve with construction of a new airport.

A chaotic and frustrating airport.

International Terminal - Ambiguous signing on arrival. Long queues for immigration. On departure, long queues out onto pavement outside, few check in desks, insufficient staff on emigration desks. No signage to gates. Disorganised departure lounge allocation leading to snaking lines of passengers criss/crossing the apron. Generally cramped and claustrophobic. No transit route for domestic/international transfers - no signs directing passengers to international terminal. Passengers must walk between terminals and queue to get back in. Domestic terminal - one small cramped cafe/bar in departure area.

NBO is well-organised, duty free shopping is very good, coffee house great, several business lounges are available.