Flights resume at Kenyatta airport

Aug 08, 2013

International flight business has resumed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport a day after a fire ate through parts of east Africa's busiest airport on Wednesday.

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The cause of the Wednesday fire is not known yet. PHOTO/Reuters

NAIROBI - International flight business has resumed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi a day after a fire ate through parts of east Africa's busiest airport on Wednesday.

According to Kenyan airport authorities, a plane from London was the first to land 06:30 local time (EAT) at the regional hub which serves more than 16,000 passengers daily.

Jomo Kenyatta airport is considered the heartthrob of east Africa's flight business and the Wednesday morning fire meant that travel in the region was very much affected.

Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also landed on Thursday, authorities said.

Cause unknown yet

Dramatic plumes of black smoke billowed out of the main arrivals terminal, but by 9.00 am local time (EAT) on Wednesday, some four hours after the blaze broke out, firefighters had succeeded in stemming the raging flames.

"There is a serious fire at JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport), but we are doing everything possible to avert a crisis," said senior interior ministry official Mutea Iringo.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Tens of thousands of passengers were expected to be affected by the closure of the airport.

The interior ministry was forced to issue public appeals for Nairobi's notoriously congested traffic to give way to trucks ferrying water to the airport after firefighters tackling the blaze ran "dangerously low on water".

The blaze came two days after aircraft were delayed for several hours after the failure of a fuel hydrant needed for refuelling the planes.

It also came 15 years to the day of attacks on the US embassy in Nairobi and in Dar es Salaam in neighbouring Tanzania, killing more than 224 people.

The United States has ordered two dozen of its embassies closed in the Middle East and some African countries because of fears of an Al-Qaeda attack, but not Kenya.

There was no suggestion the Nairobi fire was linked to any attack.
 


Fire fighters battled the fire which came two days after aircraft were delayed for several hours. PHOTO/Reuters

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Stranded passengers rest after fire disrupted all operations at JKIA on Wednesday. PHOTO/Reuters


Fire fighters inspect damages from a fire at JKIA. PHOTO/Reuters


Kenya Airways and government officials address a joint news conference after the huge fire left all flights suspended. PHOTO/Reuters

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