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Wide-body & private jet
From a light jet to a full 777, one caterer, one standard
Aviation catering — Nairobi, Kenya
Airline catering, VIP & private jet catering at Nairobi (HKJK / NBO)
NBO (IATA) · HKJK (ICAO)
A 4117 m runway at Nairobi carries the wide-body movements this station turns around, and every one of them boards from a hi-loader rather than a trolley left at the aircraft steps. Inflight catering here runs on that same ramp access: in-flight catering and inflight catering are sealed at our kitchen, escorted airside and lifted to galley height on the uplift.
4,117 m
Longest runway
Wide-body
Largest aircraft handled
1
Runways
02
VIP at any volume
8 First covers or 400 passengers across three cabins, same execution
03
24/7 order desk
Ad hoc, AOG and same-day uplift answered around the clock
04
Multi-leg coordination
One loading sheet, every leg of your rotation
On the apron — Nairobi
Inflight catering with hi-loader boarding at Nairobi
Everything below is what we measure at this station — distances, windows, who signs what.
Aircraft catering lead times at HKJK
Aircraft catering handover at the galley door, Nairobi
The catering uplift at NBO is planned as a measured sequence rather than a promise: sealing, screening, escort and the hi-loader lift to galley height. Ramp access at Nairobi is held on our own clearances, so the convoy moves on our schedule and not on a shared queue. Every stage between the kitchen and the aircraft door is logged before the next one starts.
Between our kitchen and the stand at HKJK sit screening, an escorted convoy and apron traffic that a single wide-body movement can back up fast. We plan the catering uplift against the worst of that sequence rather than the best of it, building the schedule around delay rather than assuming a clear run. Temperatures are logged at sealing and logged again at handover, so the cold chain has a record at both ends of the galley catering trip. A named signature closes the load once the last cart clears the galley door, and that signature is the point at which chain of custody passes to the crew.
One coordinator carries the load from the sealed cart to the signed handover.
Flight kitchen and crew meals for HKJK
Cargo crew meals produced to the same standard at NBO
The flight kitchen that provisions HKJK runs hot production, pastry, a cold larder and a protocol line under one roof, built to hold a wide-body rotation without splitting the order across two sites. Airport catering at NBO is built to HACCP standard from intake to seal, with the cold chain tracked through every stage the load passes through before it leaves the building. Airport catering in Nairobi is planned around that single site, so a multi-class order for one aircraft moves through the same production run rather than several.
The team that handles government flight catering at HKJK is the same named crew on every rotation, not a rotating pool assigned on the day. Security clearance is held on file for each of them, their names sit on the access list for the kitchen and the ramp, and they are trained to royal household standards as well as to the standing airline specification. That same team carries the paperwork that travels with a sealed uplift, so the chain of custody has one set of hands behind it from seal to handover.
Halal airline meals and special meals at Nairobi (NBO)
VVIP catering to a written specification at HKJK
Inflight catering at HKJK is written to the cabin it serves rather than to a single fixed menu, so First, Business and main cabin each carry a specification built for their own service pace and equipment. A VIP flight menu and a charter flight menu draw on produce out of Kenya where the facts allow it, with dairy, fish and orchard fruit specified in general terms rather than by dish. Seasonal changes are built into the cycle rather than treated as an exception, so a rotation flown in one month is not served the plan of another. Allergen, halal, kosher and medical sets are documented per passenger and per cabin, labelled before they ever reach the galley.
First & VVIP cabins
First and VVIP cabins at HKJK are plated to a written specification rather than to a fixed course list, so a change of passenger count does not change the standard. VIP flight catering here runs to caviar and à-la-carte service on request, with the presentation filed against the standing order for the next rotation.
Business cabins
Business cabins at NBO run on multi-choice hot service built to cabin specification, oven-ready in formats sized to the galley fitted to the aircraft. Crew meals in Nairobi are boxed separately from the passenger load, with cabin crew meals and pilot meals in Kenya built to the same roster as the flight itself.
Protocol & dietary
Protocol and dietary requirements at NBO are documented per passenger, covering household, religious and medical needs on one filed record. Halal and kosher sets, along with the full range of IATA special meal codes, are produced on a separate line and sealed before it leaves that line, and inflight catering in Nairobi is built to carry that documentation with the load.
The three books
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Royal & Government Flights
Royal households · government · state operations
- Plated service · First to main cabin
- Protocol handling · security clearance
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Charter & Commercial
Charter · ACMI · group · scheduled · ad hoc
- 400 passengers · one uplift
- HACCP cold chain, logged to the galley door
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Private Jet
Business jet · VVIP charter · flight departments
- From 8 covers · plated forward
- Reheat sequence specified per dish
Compliance
Food safety and cold chain for aviation catering at Nairobi (NBO)
HACCP
HACCP cold chain
Produced in our own certified kitchens, temperature logged end to end.
Clearance
Cleared personnel
Security-cleared staff, badged airside vehicles, escorted where the stand requires it.
Custody
Sealed chain of custody
Carts sealed at the kitchen, seals verified and handovers signed at the aircraft.
Allergens
Documented allergen sets
Allergen, halal, kosher and medical requirements documented per uplift and per passenger.
Flight catering airside delivery at HKJK / NBO
Nairobi carries scheduled, charter and government traffic across a single wide-body reference code, and that mix sets three different problems for catering: a delegation brings a documentation load, a peak wave brings a capacity load, and a repeat rotation brings a repetition load that has to be matched tray for tray each time. Airline catering at HKJK is built to answer all three from one ops desk rather than switching process between them.
The uplift reaches the aircraft by hi-loader, lifted directly to galley height rather than staged at the foot of the steps, with our own crew escorting the convoy from the kitchen gate to the stand. Aviation catering at NBO runs on ramp access held under our own clearances, so airport catering in Nairobi is not queued behind a shared handling slot. Inflight catering in Kenya and in-flight catering in Kenya both move through that same escorted route.
On every rotation at this stand we commit to one named coordinator, sealed carts logged at departure and again at arrival, and a signed handover that closes the chain of custody before the crew takes the load.
Charter flight catering and state missions at NBO
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Government and state flight catering at Nairobi
On the same wide-body stand that takes a scheduled aircraft, a delegation movement is worked to a separate protocol file rather than a shared one. Government flight catering at HKJK covers state visits and official delegations, with a head of state aircraft handled on documentation cleared per passenger, security-cleared staff assigned to the load, and the uplift sealed before it leaves the kitchen.
Government & state flights →
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Royal and VVIP flight catering at HKJK
A single wide-body reference code has to carry a private airliner's household specification alongside a scheduled cabin plan without either one changing the other's standard. Royal flight catering at NBO holds that household file across repeat rotations for BBJ, ACJ and wide-body VIP movements, with halal and other royal household requirements produced against a written specification kept on file between movements.
Royal & VVIP flights →
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Charter and ACMI flight catering at NBO
4117 metres of runway carries a fully loaded wide-body charter departure without a weight restriction shortening the payload. Charter flight catering at Nairobi covers ACMI and wet-lease operators, group movements and special missions, with charter flight catering at NBO built as a full three-cabin uplift counted against the loading sheet and staged in the order the galleys are laid out for that airframe.
Wide-body charter →
04
Airline and ad hoc catering at Nairobi
A wide-body aircraft on the Nairobi stand boards through the same hi-loader sequence whether it operates a scheduled service or an unplanned call, because the reference code held here governs one loading method for both. Ad hoc airline catering at HKJK covers carriers running this station as an outstation, with outstation catering, diversion catering and technical stop catering worked off one duty roster and crew meals at NBO carried on the same order as the cabin load, AOG included across a multi-leg rotation.
Commercial airlines →
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Private jet and FBO catering at HKJK
Our kitchen runs the same 4117 m ramp access into the GA apron that it uses for a wide-body stand, so a business aviation movement is not worked to a lighter standard. Private jet catering at NBO reaches the FBOs on the field and the GA terminal as FBO catering, business aviation catering and business jet catering on the same cold chain and paperwork as an airline uplift.
Private jets →
Aviation catering reviews from operators at HKJK
Protocol teams on VVIP catering at Nairobi airport
Government flight department
Royal household
Charter operator
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Scheduled airline
“Our flight at Nairobi (NBO/HKJK) required tray set catering airline with clear service-by-service organization. Everything was labeled, compact, and easy to place directly into the aircraft without repacking on the ramp. Very cabin-friendly catering. Responses were quick whenever we had a question, which helped us keep the flight on schedule.”
★★★★★Scheduled airline
Alicia — Flight Dispatch Supervisor
“For a changing schedule at Nairobi (NBO/HKJK), we needed flexible outstation. Communication between dispatch, handling, and catering was clear throughout. A very useful service for ad hoc flying. The final handover was simple and there was nothing for the crew to correct before departure. Responses were quick whenever we had a question, which helped us keep the flight on schedule.”
★★★★★Private jet operator
Noah — Cabin Service Coordinator
“We used the team for private jet catering at Nairobi (NBO/HKJK) on a VIP trip. Everything was easy to check and load, and the passenger requests were prepared exactly as ordered. A very good experience from a flight attendant perspective. From an operational point of view, the service was easy to manage and required very little follow-up.”
★★★★★Government flight department
Idris — Mission Support Manager
Airport catering facts for Nairobi (HKJK / NBO)
| Datum | Value |
|---|---|
| Longest runway | 4,117 m |
| Runways | 1 |
| Aerodrome reference code | wide-body |
| ICAO | HKJK |
Business jet catering questions at Nairobi (NBO)
Outstation catering and access questions at Nairobi (NBO)
What operations gets asked every week about Nairobi.
Ask operations directly →Are FBOs and the GA terminal at NBO covered by private jet catering?
The same coordinator who runs a wide-body rotation also covers the GA terminal and the FBOs on the field, so private jet catering and FBO catering move on the same escorted route and paperwork as an airline uplift.
Who sets the lead time for an order placed against HKJK?
Across a standard rotation there is a lead time within which a full specification can be confirmed, and how far in advance that has to happen shortens close to departure for last minute airline catering, which is handled but priced against the compressed window.
Does Nairobi produce halal, kosher and the full range of special meals?
Every passenger requiring halal, kosher or another IATA special meal code has that requirement recorded against their name, and each SPML order is produced on a separate line and sealed before it leaves it.
Where is VIP, VVIP and government flight catering handled at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport?
The protocol file opened for each movement is what governs VIP flight catering and government flight catering here, recording clearance, documentation and the household or delegation standard the load is built to.
When does a quotation for airline catering cost at NBO get issued?
Once cabin count, specification and the loading window are confirmed with the desk, an airline catering cost is quoted against those three factors rather than off a published price list.
Commercial aviation catering near Nairobi
WIL / HKNW
Nairobi
Kenya · 13 km from Nairobi
Airline & VIP flight catering →
NYK / HKNL
Gathiuru
Kenya · 140 km from Nairobi
Airline & VIP flight catering →
NUU / HKNK
Nakuru
Kenya · 142 km from Nairobi
Airline & VIP flight catering →
Charter flight catering quote for HKJK / NBO
Request a quote
Send us your catering needs for NBO
Nairobi (NBO / HKJK)
Give us the aircraft and what goes on board. A coordinator comes back with a quote for Nairobi, not a brochure.
orders@aerogourmet.com · operations desk, 24/7
Four steps
Flight
Aircraft · stand · local time
Offloading
Return leg, if any
Order
Counts · menus · files
Contact
Who we come back to
Uplift at Nairobi (NBO)