Editor's Review

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has issued an update after the JKIA announced that its runway is temporarily out of service for local and international flights.

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has stated that the government is doing everything possible to allow the resumption of business at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)

Murkomen in a tweet on Monday, April 17 said that a technical team drawn from Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), Kenya Airways Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), and other stakeholders are working to remove the stalled cargo plane from the runway.

“We are doing everything possible to remove the aircraft from the runway and to resume normal business. Thank you for your patience,” Murkomen stated.

He estimated that the removal of the plane from the runway will be completed by 3: 30 PM. 

"We estimate that the process of removing the aircraft from the runway will be completed by 1530hrs," Murkomen added. 

PHOFile image of Kenya Airways planes at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.

This comes after JKIA announced that its runway is temporarily out of service for local and international flights.

"We would like to confirm that the runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has been temporarily closed due to an aborted takeoff by a Cargo plane that developed technical issues this morning.

"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,” JKIA stated.

It further asked passengers who were bound to travel to contact their respective airlines for further information.

"We advise all passengers to contact their respective airlines for further information on the status of their flights,” said JKIA.