The single runway that is used for landing and taking off at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was on Tuesday shut down after an aircraft incident by a plane belonging to Kenya Airways.
The incident was confirmed by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).
“An aircraft Incident has caused runway closure at JKIA. No injuries have been reported. Removal of the aircraft is underway. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and will provide updates shortly,” the Kenya Airports Authority said in a brief statement.
An hour later, KAA issued another update stating that the aircraft had been removed from the runway.
“The disabled aircraft has been recovered from the runway, and normal airport operations have resumed,” said KAA.
This is the latest incident to bring forth the shame of the airport’s single runway.
On April 17, 2023, the airport was paralyzed for nearly the whole day after a Singapore Airlines B747 cargo plane developed problems while on the runway.
The plane’s engines were reported to have caught fire, which cause eleven tyres to burst. This meant that the plane could not be towed.
This forced the KAA to re-route planes that were schedule to land at JKIA. Planes that were scheduled to depart were delayed as well.
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In February 2022, flights heading to the airport were redirected to the Moi International Airport in Mombasa after a plane belonging to Fly540 developed a mechanical problem on the runaway. The problem shut down the runway for four hours.
