The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was on Wednesday morning reported to have suffered yet another embarrassing blackout episode.
Reports that went viral on social media claimed that Terminal 1C – which has gained the moniker Terminal 1 Sea due to its frequent rain leakages – suffered a power blackout for more than 30 minutes.
To compound the situation, the blackout came at a time when the national airport has been battling floods. The blackout is also reported to have affected numerous other areas within Nairobi.
Incidentally, the outage occurred barely hours after Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen toured the facility and claimed that the power issues that had been plaguing the airport had finally been resolved.
“I am impressed by the commendable work done by KAA under our directive and with an austere budget. We have stabilized the electricity supply and we are now moving to the next phase of greening the airport by installing solar power and even selling some to the national grid,” said Murkomen.
The JKIA has been suffering from embarrassing power blackouts every few months.
On Sunday, December 10, the JKIA suffered yet another shameful blackout. The blackout came as the Kenya Power subjected the whole country to yet another nationwide blackout.
Photos and videos of stranded passengers were shared widely online. Kenyans had taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their frustration and anger over the shame that the JKIA has been subjecting the country to.
On Saturday November 12, 2023, the JKIA went powerless after the country suffered a near-nationwide power blackout. The power blackout left passengers at the JKIA stranded as the Kenya Airports Authority scrambled for power black-up.
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In August 2023, JKIA suffered a power blackout that led CS Kipchumba to fire KAA top bosses. “Arrived at Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) offices at JKIA. This situation will not happen again,” said Murkomen at the JKIA.
