Man Arrested By DCI At JKIA For Forcefully Entering Wrong Plane

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are holding a man who caused a dramatic scene at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) by attempting to force himself into the wrong plane.

Police revealed in a statement on Saturday, September 23 that the incident took place at the airport's Terminal 1D for domestic departures.

The 34-year-old man who was heading to Mombasa as a passenger had failed to board his booked plane on time as required by the local airline.

He was locked out of the plane which was due for a take-off from Nairobi on Friday, September 22 at around 9 pm.

Attempts by the man to plead with JKIA staff for help bore no fruit as he made a desperate attempt to catch the flight by breaching the security gate to force himself onto the plane.

"He later forced entry through Gate 1 and entered the wrong aircraft when the gates were already closed," the statement by the police read in part.

However, flight attendants managed to stop him from boarding the plane successfully by pulling him out by force, with the help of security officers, creating commotion in the aircraft.

Police noted that the man after being questioned said he was caught in traffic leading to his lateness. He is being held at JKIA police station and will be arraigned on Monday, September 25, 2023.

"He is booked in police custody for the offence of entering a restricted area," the police stated.

Even though the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has certain areas within airports where Kenyans are allowed to access, there are some areas where accessing a restricted section without an application can land you in trouble.

Permanent security passes are done at the Kenya Airports Authority Headquarters. Temporary Security Passes are issued at JKIA’s security passes office.

Kenya Airports Authority provides this to the public who may want to access the Airport restricted areas issued at the discretion of the Managing Director, General Manager of Security or the Airport Manager.

Restricted areas such as airports are governed by the Protected Areas Act (Cap. 204). The Act defines a protected area as any area, place or premises which has been declared by the Minister to be a protected area under Section 3.

Once an area has been declared to be a protected area, no person is allowed to enter the area without the permission of the prescribed authority or the President or the Minister of State for Defence.