Domestic Flights Resume as Airport Fire Probe Begins

NAIROBI Kenya

Cargo and domestic services resume this evening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after disruption by a huge infernal at the international arrivals terminal, as the government launched investigation into the cause of the morning fire.

State House said in a statement issued through the spokesperson Manoah Esipisu that domestic flights will operate from the Cargo terminal. “We are concerned that the incident interrupted travellers’ schedules and appreciate that they are being routed to their destinations as soon as is possible,” the statement added.

International flights remained suspended indefinitely. However, the Kenya Civil Aviation has cleared the use of Unit 3 for international departures and arrivals. “We want to guarantee the safety and security of all passengers, and that is our most important consideration at this time,” he added.

In the statement, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the fire had been contained, adding that the cause of the fire was being investigated and there was no reason to speculate at this point. The President also reassured the entire aviation industry, investors, local and international travelers that everything was being done to resume normal operate.

There was serious disruption of the aviation operations at the airport. Contingency measures have been put in place to stabilise the situation and to return the airport to normal operations, he said.

The fire incident at the airport comes barely two weeks after the demolishing of Kamlesh Patni’s owned duty- free shops located in the airport premises, which has raised speculation over the cause of the fire.

Resumption of Limited Kenya Airways Flights

Kenya Airways latest statement is as follows:

We would like to inform our customers and stakeholders that we will have a limited domestic operation today . The first flight out of Nairobi to Mombasa is expected to depart at 7.00pm. Another flight out of Mombasa to Nairobi will depart at 9.15 pm. Please note that full operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are yet to resume. All affected customers will however be advised accordingly and should be at the airport two hours before departure time.

The domestic departure terminal is in use and will be open to handle these flights. We also wish to advise that these flights will only be operated for the domestic customers travelling between Nairobi and Mombasa and those who were on transit either to Mombasa from international flights, and to Nairobi for flights diverted to Mombasa. Priority for the Nairobi-Mombasa sector will be given first to international transit passengers. Please bear with us as we try and restore all operations and streamline our service delivery.