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| Flights resume after Nairobi airport fire | Flights resume after Nairobi airport fire |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| International flights have resumed at the main airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, following Wednesday's fire that gutted parts of the airport. | International flights have resumed at the main airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, following Wednesday's fire that gutted parts of the airport. |
| A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Kenyan airport authorities said. | A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Kenyan airport authorities said. |
| Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also landed on Thursday. | Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also landed on Thursday. |
| The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported. | The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported. |
| The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption. | The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption. |
| International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa. | International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa. |
| On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services. | On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services. |
| The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted. | The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted. |
| 'Completely destroyed' | |
| The fire started in the airport's international arrivals and immigration area at around 05:00 on Wednesday and spread quickly. | |
| Questions are being asked about why so few fire engines were available initially. | |
| It appears that some engines got stuck in the Kenyan capital's notorious traffic jams. Many engines at the scene also quickly ran out of water. | |
| Soldiers and police even came with buckets to help put out the fire, Sylvia Amondi, who was at the airport to pick up a relative who had been due to arrive there, told AFP news agency. | |
| "The international arrivals station has been completely destroyed, the roof has caved in and the floor is covered in debris and water," she said. | |
| A third of Europe's flower imports, and many fresh vegetables, come from Kenya and the Kenya Flower Council exporters' association described the fire as "disastrous". | |
| Shares in Kenya Airways, which uses the airport as its main hub, fell 2% after the fire. | |
| Foreign airlines which use the terminal include British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, KLM, Turkish Airways, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways. Several cancelled flights to Nairobi on Wednesday. | |
| The country's anti-terrorism chief, Boniface Mwaniki, has said he does not believe the fire - which happened on the 15th anniversary of the bombings by al-Qaeda of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - was connected to terrorism. | |
| Correspondents say the airport is old and overcrowded. |