Isiolo Airport is operating below capacity with a mere four flights a week eight months after it was opened.

Kenya Airports Authority managing director Jonny Andersen told members of the National Cohesion Committee of the National Assembly that although the airport is operating below capacity, it has the potential to grow as a cargo hub.

"We have just opened the airport and what makes an airport tick is that we have traffic. Right now, operations are not big," he told the committee chaired by Nominated MP Maina Kamanda.

The airport was built at a cost of Sh2.7 billion and can handle 350,000 passengers annually.

Mr Andersen asked MPs from Isiolo and neighbouring counties to help increase traffic at the airport.

He said the airport can grow as a cargo hub in the region, especially for produce such as miraa.

Denied jobs

Mr Andersen had been summoned by the committee after Isiolo Woman Representative Rehema Jaldesa complained that residents had been denied employment at the airport.

The KAA boss said that given Isiolo's central location and the fact that it is part of the Lamu Port Southern Sudan Ethiopia Transport corridor, it was bound to grow.