A fire broke out at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Monday at night as a result of an electrical fault.
In a statement dated March 25, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) confirmed the fire incident and announced the temporary closure of JKIA’s Terminal 1E.
KAA said the fire was quickly put out and there were no injuries from the incident.
“KAA wishes to inform the public of a small fire incident that occurred at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s Terminal 1E this morning, caused by an electrical fault. The situation was quickly contained, with no injuries or casualties resulting from the incident,” the statement read in parts.
Following this, power to Terminal 1E has been temporarily shut off as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all within JKIA premises.
KAA said “To mitigate any inconvenience this may cause; all flight arrival operations have been redirected to Terminal 1A until further notice.”
In recent months, the JKIA has been in the news for bad reasons ranging from leaking roofs and power blackouts.
JKIA Leaking Roofs
On Thursday, February 29, CNN African Correspondent Larry Madowo shared the video footage on his X account showing a leaking roof at a renovated terminal at JKIA.
“JKIA’s ‘newly renovated’ terminal leaking when it rains. Is there no shame?” Madowo captioned the video.
“Our national comfort with mediocrity is infuriating,” Madowo added.
Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen previously informed the public the government would address the leaking roofs at JKIA months before Madowo shared the footage.
Also Read: Murkomen Reveals Plans to Replace JKIA Staff
In his response to a similar video shared in November 2023, Murkomen attributed the failures to the previous regime.
He stated that former president Uhuru Kenyatta allocated inadequate maintenance to JKIA hence the current issues.
“When we got to the office, we found out that many of our airports are in a pathetic state and JKIA leaking is a result of that,” Murkomen asserted, emphasizing that the renovation at JKIA’s terminal 1C and I1 was sub-standard and intended only as a temporary solution.
Also Read: Murkomen Finally Fixes Embarrassing JKIA Blackouts
Power Blackouts
JKIA was plunged into darkness following a countrywide power outage on December 10, 2023.
KAA said that two of the four backup generators at failed during the power outage specifically those serving Terminals 1A and 1E.
CS Murkomen was equally blamed after a national blackout on November 11,2023 which lasted for hours stopped operations at JKIA leaving passengers stranded.
The incident came barely three months after another national blackout that paralyzed operations at JKIA in August the same year.
