The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has announced that one international terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will be closed from October 10.
According to a notice from the KAA, Terminal 1E will be closed temporarily from 7am to pave way for renovations. This international terminal is used for arrivals at the airport. It contains immigration and customs check points.
“Terminal 1E at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport will be temporarily closed starting Thursday, October 10, 2024 to facilitate essential rehabilitation works,” KAA said in a statement on Tuesday.
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During the renovations, airlines that use the terminal shall be accommodated at Terminal 1A. “During the period, all affected airlines shall be processed through Terminal 1A. This decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of our staff and passengers during the renovation process,” the KAA stated.
Some of the airlines that have used this terminal include British Airways, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates, and Rwandair.
Terminal 1E was first unveiled in October 2015 by former president Uhuru Kenyatta. The terminal allowed the JKIA to separate departures and arrivals and was launched with a capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers every year.
At the time, the government through the KAA was in plans to build a second runway at the airport and a contractor for the project had already been engaged. This project never took off. The contractor sued the government in demand for compensations as per the signed documents. This dispute was finally settled by the KAA at a cost of more than Sh. 4 billion this year.
In March this year, Terminal 1E was temporarily closed after a fire incident occurred within the terminal. The fire was caused by an electric fault. Previously, about five years ago, a similar incident happened at Terminal 1C’s check-in counters 7 and 8. That fire was caused by a baggage belt system malfunction.
