KAA Explains Why JKIA Witnessed Another Power Blackout
The airport authority added that its technical team responded swiftly to the situation, and quickly rectified the fault, restoring power fully to the affected terminals.
Marvin Chege 
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has explained that the power blackout which paralysed systems at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi had affected Terminals 1A and 1E.
In a statement, KAA extended its apologies to passengers, stakeholders, and all airport users for the inconvenience caused by the power failure experienced on Sunday evening, December 10 as parts of the country witnessed another nationwide blackout.
"Over the past week, our generator system at JKIA has undergone rigorous testing to ensure continuous and reliable power supply. Despite these efforts, during tonight's power outage, two of our four generators, specifically those serving Terminals IA and IE, failed to immediately activate," KAA explained the cause of JKIA's blackout.
Power blackout at JKIA on December 10, 2023. /LIZAH MUTUKU
"We would like to assure the public that the rest of the airport, including the JKIA Tower and Runway, remained fully operational and was not impacted by this incident."
The airport authority added that its technical team responded swiftly to the situation, and quickly rectified the fault, restoring power fully to the affected terminals.
"In our commitment to service excellence and operational reliability, we have initiated a comprehensive investigation to identify the root cause of the generator failure," KAA further announced.
"We are dedicated to providing a safe, efficient, and comfortable experience for all our users. We will continue to take all necessary steps to maintain and improve our facilities and services. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to enhance our facilities."
By the time of publishing this article, some of the passengers had reported that the power supply was restored at the international airport.
"At JKIA and power is back. I go through about 50 international airports a year. This is the only one I’ve seen lose power, and so frequently," CNN International correspondent, Larry Madowo, wrote on X.
The current situation even saw passengers forced to look for their flights as well as their luggage using the torches on their phones.
JKIA has not been a stranger to recent power blackouts. However, in late August, a blackout that crippled operations at the airport forced Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen into radical changes.
"By Mutual consent, the contract of Mr Alex Gitari who had been the managing director of Kenya Airports Authority has been terminated. In his place Mr Henry Mugoe who has been Head of Corporate Affairs," he stated at the time.
"In order to ensure that a similar incident is not replicated, it has been decided that the two generators that were procured more than two years ago be immediately commissioned.
"I have further directed the Board to work on the staff attitude, mentorship and motivation to improve productivity. I assure the country and the world that we have taken measures to enhance the capacity of technical experts in the engineering department to ensure this incident does not recur," added the CS.
The CS also indicated that the board would effect more changes in the coming days as they move to prevent similar challenges caused by power blackouts in the country.
The changes came after KAA attributed the nearly 2-hour power blackout at JKIA to the failure of one of the generators to start.
