Singapore cargo plane mishap trigger paralysis at JKIA, all of inbound, outbound flights cancelled

A cargo plane mishap at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) runway today morning triggered blanket suspension of all inbound and outbound flights after safety concerns were raised internally.

The Informer Media Group established that Singapore Airlines Cargo plane engine caught fire while on the runway ready for takeoff.

Although KAA management did not respond to our phone calls, we established that Singapore Airlines Cargo plane sixteen tyres bust following the scary fire incident, and were all deflated.

However, the Kenya Airports Authority management attributed the abortive takeoff to technical difficulties, the plane in question had been cleared to fly raising internal safety precautions by the management.

By midday, operations at the busiest and the largest regional airport remained paralysed.

Three Kenya Airways passenger flights from New York in the United States of America (USA) were diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda and are scheduled for landing at 2.20pm at JKIA today.

“We are doing everything possible to remove the aircraft from the runway and to resume normal business. Thank you for your patience.” Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said.

However, infuriated Kenyans whose flights were either delayed or cancelled altogether expressed their dismay to the airport management.

“In this day and age of the year 2023, surely one plane cannot inconvenience and ground JKIA to a hault. How are we supposed to be saying JKIA is the busiest and largest airport then?” A Twitter post by Kiprono in response to the CS read in part.

Insiders blamed KAA which is responsible for the management and security of all airports in the country for what they termed as “serious security breach”.  A KAA senior manager intimated.

“We would like to confirm that the runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has been temporarily closed due to an aborted takeoff by Cargo plane that developed technical issues this morning.” The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) headed by Managing Director Alex Gitari said through a public notice.

Further, KAA advised travelers to get in touch with their individual airlines for more details on the status of their flights.

“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. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.” The update read in part.

Last week, during the inauguration of the new KAA Board of Directors, CS Murkomen revealed that the government is planning to construct a state-of-the-art terminal at JKIA.

He said this would solve the challenge facing the Airport in terms of its capacity to serve passengers, which has led to inefficiencies and breakdown in systems.

“Being a key port of entry for Kenya, it is critical that we work on a Public-Private Partnership model that will facilitate the expansion of JKIA to include a new terminal and a new runway to double the airport’s capacity and move the list of the best airports in the world.” Murkomen said.

During his address, he urged the board to work with the government, stakeholders and investors to achieve the plan.

He asked the board to review the KAA Act 1991 so that it can concur with current developments in the aviation sector.