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International Flights Gradually Resume at Nairobi Airport International Flights Gradually Resume at Nairobi Airport
(about 3 hours later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — International passenger flights were slowly resuming from Nairobi’s main international airport, officials said Thursday, one day after a devastating fire ripped through its main arrivals hall, temporarily disabling East Africa’s busiest airport. NAIROBI, Kenya — International passenger flights were slowly resuming from Nairobi’s main international airport, with full operations expected to be restored by the end of the day, officials said Thursday, one day after a devastating fire ripped through its main arrivals hall, temporarily disabling East Africa’s busiest air transportation hub.
One Kenya Airways flight to Amsterdam departed early Thursday, and another to Johannesburg. Departures for about a dozen other foreign destinations — as well as a handful of international arrivals — were scheduled before midday, but there was no official word from the Kenya Airports Authority about when Jomo Kenyatta International Airport would be able to resume a full operating schedule. Several international departures and arrivals had been completed at the airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, by midday Thursday and dozens were scheduled for the late evening.
Confusion still reigned among the makeshift check-in counters, however, as thousands of passengers who had been left stranded Wednesday sought to find their way aboard flights. Kenya Airways, the country’s flag carrier, was operating at around 35 percent of capacity, but was expected to return to full operations by late Thursday, said Michael Kamau, a senior government transportation official.
“We expect that the normal flow of passengers will be restored from midnight,” Mr. Kamau said. “We are back on our feet.”
Cargo flights, which had partially resumed Wednesday evening, would be allowed to operate only from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the time being, Mr. Kamau added, giving priority to passenger aircraft until the backlog of flights had cleared.
Confusion still reigned, however, among the makeshift check-in counters, as thousands of passengers who had been left stranded Wednesday sought to find their way aboard flights.
Anet Ross, 45, visiting from Canada, said she and her husband were told at 6 a.m. to head to the airport for a flight home that was scheduled to leave at noon.Anet Ross, 45, visiting from Canada, said she and her husband were told at 6 a.m. to head to the airport for a flight home that was scheduled to leave at noon.
“We were woken up very early,” she said, “only to arrive and be told the flight has been canceled.”“We were woken up very early,” she said, “only to arrive and be told the flight has been canceled.”
A visibly frustrated Faith Imani, 25, said she rose at 3 a.m. and drove three hours from Eldoret, northwest of Nairobi, to catch her flight to Sydney via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways. A visibly frustrated Faith Imani, 25, said she rose at 3 a.m. and drove three hours from Eldoret, northwest of Nairobi, to catch her flight to Sydney, Australia, via Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Etihad Airways.
“I got here very early, but my agent just called me to tell me my flight has been canceled,” she said. “I am awaiting details from the airline, but we aren’t getting information.”“I got here very early, but my agent just called me to tell me my flight has been canceled,” she said. “I am awaiting details from the airline, but we aren’t getting information.”
No further details have emerged as to the likely cause of the fire, which erupted around 5 a.m. Wednesday and burned for several hours, eventually engulfing the international arrivals hall of the circular, 1960s-era terminal. There were no casualties. No further details have emerged as to the likely cause of the fire, which began around 5 a.m. Wednesday and burned for several hours, eventually engulfing the international arrivals hall of the circular, 1960s-era terminal. There were no casualties.
Mr. Kamau dismissed criticism that firefighters were slow to respond or had been insufficiently equipped to fight the blaze, which started in the immigration area in the central building and raged for several hours.
“The design of the airport made it extremely difficult even to hose water from any position,” Mr. Kamau said. “So there was a challenge.”
He said that the initial fire was quelled using portable fire extinguishers before emergency services arrived. “I’d say that we are satisfied with the level of operations and services that we received from other government agencies and private fire fighting companies,” he said.
Mr. Kamau said it was too early to estimate the cost of the damage to the terminal, which was already in the midst of an expansion project, due to be completed in 2024.
“The Kenya Airports Authority engineers haven’t been allowed to access the area for security reasons,” he said. “The entire building requires renovation.”
Eunice Makambo, 41, a mother traveling with her five children to Kigali, Rwanda, to visit her husband, said they had been stranded at the airport since Wednesday.Eunice Makambo, 41, a mother traveling with her five children to Kigali, Rwanda, to visit her husband, said they had been stranded at the airport since Wednesday.
“We have been told to wait,” she said, adding that her flight may leave at noon or 3 p.m. “We have been told to wait,” she said.
Kenyan officials have been reluctant to suggest any link to terrorism, despite the fact that the fire coincided with the anniversary of the coordinated bombings of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998, attacks that killed more than 200 people. Kenya is a crucial Western ally, abutting troubled areas of neighboring Somalia.Kenyan officials have been reluctant to suggest any link to terrorism, despite the fact that the fire coincided with the anniversary of the coordinated bombings of the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998, attacks that killed more than 200 people. Kenya is a crucial Western ally, abutting troubled areas of neighboring Somalia.
Michael Kamau, a senior government transportation official, was scheduled to hold a news conference around midday Thursday. Mr. Kamau stressed that the investigation into the fire’s cause was still in its preliminary stages, adding that the Kenyan authorities were receiving technical assistance from international agencies and “friendly governments,” though he did not elaborate.
“We want to carry out a full investigation,” he said.