The airport was built during the
Second World War by the
Engineer Corps of the
South African Army. During the war, it was used by the
Fleet Air Arm as a land base of the
British Eastern Fleet which was based at nearby
Kilindini Harbour from 1942, by the
Royal Air Force (
AHQ East Africa and
No. 246 Wing RAF) which operated
anti-submarine Catalina flying boats off the East Africa coast and by the
South African Air Force which was engaged in the war against Italy in
Abyssinia. Benair Engineering constructed its first private aircraft maintenance hangar in 1997 as a temporary structure and it is still standing today. The hangar is located adjacent to the government hangar built to maintain Catalina aircraft during WW2 as part of the British East Africa war effort. Benair has been the principal aircraft maintenance facility since its inception at the Kenya coast and the name is based on the Chief engineer Geoffrey Benaglia. Principal customers include Dorenair, Dodsons International, Bluesky Aviation, Precision Air (Tanzania) and Mombasa Air Safari. Starting on 18 August 1992, Moi International Airport was used as the headquarters for the
US Central Command's regional command and control headquarters for
Operation Provide Relief until 4 December of that same year when it was subordinated and merged with
Operation Restore Hope. From July to September 1994, Moi International Airport was used almost continuously as a refueling station during the
Operation Support Hope humanitarian mission into Rwanda. Empty
C-141 and
C-5 freighter jets returning to Europe flew to
Mombasa due to the scarcity of fuel in the African interior. The airlift through Mombasa ceased by October due to runway expansion work. == Facilities ==