Roads, Transport, and Public Works Cabinet Secretary(CS) Kipchumba Murkomen has announced that flights at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will resume shortly.
This follows a temporary closure of the runway by Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) that was occasioned by a failed take-off cargo plane that developed technical issues on Monday, April 17, 2023.
Through Twitter, the CS noted that the cargo plane was removed an hour late. Initially, he had estimated that the removal of the aircraft from the runway would be completed by 1530hrs however, the plane was removed at around 1640hrs.
“Pursuant to my earlier update the plane has been removed from the runway albeit an hour later than we expected. Flights will resume shortly.”
KAA had earlier been forced to halt local and international flights after the Singapore airline cargo aircraft B747-400 aborted take-off after 11 out of 16 rear tyres were punctured.
The authority noted that the suspension of flights was for the safety of all its passengers.
“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,” KAA said.
Adding; “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.”
