JKIA Shuts Down Runway After Cargo Plane Fails To Take Off

UPDATE: The JKIA runway has been partially opened for medium and small aircraft to take off after it was temporarily closed, and both local as well as international flights suspended.

Speaking to Viral Tea, Salim Bakari, the head of corporate communications at the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), revealed that large aircraft have been diverted to Mombasa's Moi International Airport.

"This is confirmed that the runway is temporarily closed following a mishap involving a Singapore Cargo plane. Efforts are being made to clear the problem.

"Meanwhile, large aircraft are being diverted to Mombasa. Medium and small aircraft continue to operate normally," Bakari noted.

The cargo plane failed to take off after its engine caught fire, which led to 16 of its tyres busted.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) on Monday, April 17 announced that the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) runway was temporarily closed, affecting local and international flights.

In a statement, KAA revealed that the closure was a result of a cargo plane which aborted its takeoff after developing technical issues.

"We would like to confirm that the runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has been temporarily closed due to an aborted takeoff by a Cargo plane that developed technical issues this morning.

"Our top priority is the safety of all passengers and we are working closely with the relevant authorities to resolve this situation as quickly and safely as possible. As a result of the runway closure, all incoming and outgoing flights have been temporarily suspended," the authority stated in part.

A plane that was bound for Nairobi from New York was diverted to Entebbe Airport, Uganda while another en route to JKIA from Mumbai, India also encountered delays due to the closure.

"We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. We advise all passengers to contact their respective airlines for further information on the status of their flights," advised KAA.

By the time of publishing, KAA had not issued an update regarding the situation at the JKIA runway as spot checks by Viral Tea on FlightRadar24 reveal a number of flights that were scheduled to depart at this hour but none forthcoming.

The cargo plane was set to depart Nairobi at 1:30 am and expected to arrive at Amsterdam on Monday morning, April 17, at 9:40 am. However, it stalled at the end of the runway, leading to the temporary shutdown.

The KAA was on Tuesday, April 11 allegedly breached by a suspected member of the notorious cyberterrorist group dubbed Medusa which claimed to have stolen files that were leaked online.

The attackers had leaked up to 514 GB of data, including procurement plans, physical plans, site surveys, invoices and receipts in the attack that affected normal operations of the KAA website.

Among the leaked documents seen by Viral Tea included proposed plans to expand the JKIA into a facility which would be almost three times bigger than the current version.

According to the blueprints, the biggest airport in the country would allegedly boast of two buildings with a shape resembling the planned Greenfield terminal, a Ksh56 billion project which was cancelled in March 2016 barely two years after a ground-breaking ceremony that was held on May 23, 2014.

Also included was a second runway that would look longer than the existing one and would serve a series of aircraft taking off and landing at the same time and lessen the degree of disruption of operations in the event an incident was to happen on one runway.

Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen thereafter confirmed the government's plans to construct a new terminal and runway at the airport as an upgrade to combat any inefficiencies and the breakdown of systems.

"Being a key port of entry for Kenya, it is critical that we work on a Public-Private Partnership model that will facilitate the expansion of JKIA to include a new terminal and a new runway to double the airport's capacity and move the list of the best airports in the world," Murkomen stated on Thursday, April 13.

"With the terminal comes the increased capacity to handle more planes and passengers hundreds of jobs for Kenyans, a boost in tourism, increased trade and investment and enhance regional integration."

Immigration desks at JKIA. /KAA