Flights Diverted as Cargo Plane Stalls on JKIA Runway

Operations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were on Monday interrupted for hours after a Singapore Airlines cargo plane stalled on the runway.

As a result, the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) announced the temporary closure of the airline’s only runway. 

“We would like to confirm that the runway at JKIA has been temporarily closed due to an aborted take-off by a cargo plane that developed technical issues this morning,” the KAA said in a statement.

“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."

Reports indicate that the plane failed to take off following a bird strike that caused the engine to catch fire, which deflated its tyres. Consequently, the plane could not be towed off the runway immediately and airport personnel were forced to borrow tyres from other aircraft grounded at the facility. 

Some flights that were scheduled to land at JKIA, including a Kenya Airways (KQ) plane from New York were diverted to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, Business Daily reported.

As of 12.15 pm on Monday, the JKIA runway had been partially opened for smaller planes to take off, with KAA advising passengers to contact their respective airlines for further information on the status of their flights.

Last year, more than 15 flights were redirected from the airport after a Fly540 plane stalled. 

JKIA, the largest airport in the region, has only one runway that was built over 40 years ago and efforts to expand the facility have ended in controversies.

The JKIA runway is 4,117 metres long and 45 metres wide with 15 metres of paved shoulders and can handle wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing B747.

In 2016, the government suspended plans to construct a Sh69 billion Greenfield Terminal at the airport and opted to construct a second runway instead. Two years later, the government shelved plans to build a Sh22 billion second runway at JKIA to review its economic value.

KAA has since secured Sh16 billion in funding from African Development Bank (AFDB) for the runway. JKIA handles about 7.8 million passengers annually.