Before the jet airline era, Kisumu was a landing point on the British flying boat passenger and mail route from Southampton to Cape Town. Kisumu linked Port Bell and Nairobi.
Kisumu is served by Kisumu Airport which has international status, with regular daily flights to Nairobi and elsewhere. Expansion of the airport cargo facility after completion of the passenger terminals is currently going on in anticipation of increased trade brought about by the recreated East African Community of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Lake Victoria ferries have operated from the port linking the railway to Mwanza and Bukoba in Tanzania, and to Entebbe, Port Bell, andJinja in Uganda.The first steam ships built in Kisumu in 1905 were the SS Sybila and the SS Nyanza.
President Kibaki launched a Ksh. 6.8 billion road project for a major overhaul of Kisumu's road network on July 24, 2009
