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Huge Fire Shuts Down Nairobi’s International Airport Huge Fire Shuts Down Nairobi’s International Airport
(about 2 hours later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan authorities ordered the temporary closing on Wednesday of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after a huge fire broke out and raged for four hours, officials and witnesses said. The blaze spread to the international arrivals area, bringing East Africa’s busiest airport to a standstill and turning parts of it into charred ruins. NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan authorities ordered the temporary closing on Wednesday of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport here in Nairobi after a huge fire broke out and raged for four hours, officials and witnesses said. The blaze spread to the international arrivals area, bringing East Africa’s busiest airport to a standstill and turning parts of it into charred ruins.
By mid-afternoon, Michael Kamau, a senior government transport official, told reporters that the airport had been partially reopened for domestic and cargo flights, but international traffic was still suspended. Airport authorities planned to convert another part of the facility to a temporary terminal for international flights, he said. By midafternoon, Michael Kamau, a senior government transportation official, told reporters that the airport had been partially reopened for domestic and cargo flights, but international passenger traffic was still suspended. Airport authorities planned to convert another part of the facility to a temporary terminal for international passenger flights, he said.
The airport handles 16,000 passengers a day, officials said, and is a vital link for Kenya’s cut flower export business — an important source of foreign currency along with the country’s tourism trade on beaches and in game reserves, and the exportation of tea. The blaze sent a plume of black smoke that was visible from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, a few miles away, witnesses said. Visiting the gutted section of the circular, 1960s-era terminal, Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, said there was no loss of life but expressed dismay over the damage and the disruption it had caused to air travelers, said Manoah Esipisu, a presidential spokesman. The cause of the fire had yet to be determined and was being investigated, he added.
The fire started at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, when many flights to and from Europe and elsewhere were scheduled. Kenya is a key Western ally, abutting troubled areas of neighboring Somalia. But Mr. Kenyatta and other Kenyan officials were reluctant to make any immediate link to terrorism. Wednesday, Aug. 7, is the anniversary of the 1998 coordinated bombings of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks that killed more than 200 people.
Many incoming flights were diverted to the Indian Ocean coastal city of Mombasa. “There is no reason to speculate at this point,” Mr. Esipisu said.
The blaze sent a plume of black smoke that was visible from the Kenyan capital a few miles away, witnesses said. Reporters from The Associated Press at the scene said stranded passengers stood on sidewalks outside the airport with their luggage in hand, and that the international arrivals hall had been gutted. Nairobi is an essential hub for sub-Saharan passenger traffic, transporting more than six million passengers a year on more than 40 international airlines from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the rest of Africa. It is also a vital cargo link, particularly for the export of fresh produce, cut flowers and other perishable goods from across East Africa — an important source of foreign currency. The airport handled around 290,000 tons of freight in 2011, according to Airports Council International, second only to Johannesburg, which handled 336,000 tons.
News reports said some emergency vehicles heading for the blaze got bogged down in rush-hour traffic on the airport road. Analysts said the quick resumption of international cargo traffic would likely minimize any immediate impact on the Kenyan economy, and the fact that some passenger flights had also resumed indicated that critical computer systems that handle ticketing, baggage processing and navigation systems were unaffected by the blaze.
Wednesday, Aug. 7, is the anniversary of the 1998 coordinated bombings of United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks that killed more than 200 people. “If the runway can operate and the control tower can operate, then the airport should be close to fully operational within a few days,” said David Feldman, a managing partner at Exambela, an aviation consulting firm based in Paris.
But Kenya’s antiterror police boss, Boniface Mwaniki, told The A.P. that he wanted to wait for the fire to be extinguished before making a judgment about whether terrorism had been involved. Kenya is a key Western ally, abutting troubled areas of neighboring Somalia. Airport officials said the fire started at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, when many flights to and from Europe and elsewhere were scheduled. Many incoming flights were diverted to the Indian Ocean coastal city of Mombasa.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The fire came less than two days after problems with a fuel jet pump forced the diversion of flights to other regional airports, including those of Mombasa, Entebbe International Airport in Uganda and Kigali International Airport in Rwanda, Reuters reported.
Katie Price, an American aid worker with Catholic Relief Services, said she arrived on a plane from Lusaka, Zambia, that landed at around the time the fire broke out and was stranded in the aircraft for several hours, before hundreds of passengers were evacuated through a makeshift immigration hall in a cargo area that escaped the blaze.Katie Price, an American aid worker with Catholic Relief Services, said she arrived on a plane from Lusaka, Zambia, that landed at around the time the fire broke out and was stranded in the aircraft for several hours, before hundreds of passengers were evacuated through a makeshift immigration hall in a cargo area that escaped the blaze.
The fire lasted several hours, Ms. Price, 32, said in a telephone interview, and appeared to have caused major damage. “It looked like it would be hard to repair,” she said. In a telephone interview, Ms. Price, 32, said the fire appeared to have caused major damage. “It looked like it would be hard to repair,” she said.

Reuben Kyama reported from Nairobi and Alan Cowell from London.

Kenya’s civil aviation authorities gave clearance late Wednesday for the airport to operate international passenger flights from a part of the terminal normally reserved for domestic traffic, although most were not expected to resume before Thursday.
“We want to guarantee the safety and security of all passengers, and that is our most important consideration at this time,” said Mr. Esipisu, the presidential spokesman.
Mr. Feldman predicted that the situation for air travelers was nonetheless likely to remain chaotic for some time, as August is a peak month for Kenyan tourism, with thousands of visitors flocking to its beaches and game reserves.
“It will be a mess, probably operating in very uncomfortable, open-air conditions” with significant delays, Mr. Feldman said.

Reuben Kyama reported from Nairobi

Nicola Clark reported from Paris. Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London.