Lake Manyara Airport (LKY)

Lake Manyara Airport is a small domestic airstrip serving Lake Manyara National Park in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. It acts as a convenient air gateway for travellers visiting the lake, the Rift Valley escarpment and the wider northern safari circuit.

The airport has a single runway of about 1,220 metres on a 12/30 alignment and one compact passenger building. It mainly handles light-aircraft and safari flights operated by Tanzanian carriers such as Auric Air, Coastal Aviation, Flightlink, Air Excel and Regional Air, connecting Manyara with Arusha, the Serengeti, Tarangire, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.

Located on the western Rift Valley escarpment above the park, the airstrip sits roughly 120 km from central Arusha by road, a drive that usually takes more than two hours. Flights from Arusha Airport take around 20 to 30 minutes, making flying a practical option for travellers with limited time.

Passenger facilities are intentionally simple, with a basic shelter, a windsock and vehicle parking rather than a large terminal. The airport is managed by the Tanzania Airports Authority and is undergoing rehabilitation and upgrading works to improve its runway, apron and terminal infrastructure for safari travel.