Kenya: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Resumes Operations After Seven-Hour Closure

Nairobi — The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has announced the resumption of normal operations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after seven-hour closure on Monday. The resumption followed the removal of the Singapore airline cargo plane that had suffered a bird strike forcing it to station at the runway. “The JKIA runway is now opened and operations at the airport have resumed. Disabled aircraft has been cleared from the runway,” KAA said. According to preliminary information, Singapore Airlines flight SQ7343 from Nairobi to Amsterdam experienced severe engine damage caused by a bird strike, leading to the aborted takeoff. The agency consequently advised passengers “to contact their respective airlines for information on the status of their flights”. “We regret the inconvenience caused by today’s incident,” the agency said. The incident had earlier caused the diversion of a Kenya Airways flight that was destined for JKIA to Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport.