Two early morning Kenya airways and Jambojet planes were diverted back to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after they failed to land at the Eldoret International Airport (EIA).
According to passengers on the Jambojet plane, the aircraft was turned back after two unsuccessful landing attempts at the Eldoret International Airport.
Alarmed, Kenyans online questioned the two airlines on the cause of the diversions, others lamenting of the inconvenience caused.
In response, Jambojet indicated that its early morning plane could not land upon arrival at EIA because of poor visibility as a result of bad weather.
“The flight had to diverted back to NBO due to poor visibility in Eldoret. Further updates to follow,” Jambojet indicated.
Also Read: REVEALED: Ignored Red Flags in Plane Involved in Mid-Air Accident
KQ and Jambojet Planes Schedule Before Diversion
According to Flight radar, a web application used for tracking flights in real-time, the Jambojet plane was scheduled to depart from Nairobi at 6:10 am.
However, its actual departure time was 6:26am. It also indicated that although the plane was scheduled to arrive in Eldoret at 7:10 am, the plane was diverted back to Nairobi.
On the other hand, the Kenya Airways plane, Embraer E190AR was scheduled to leave Nairobi at 6:35 am and arrive in Eldoret at 7:25 am. However, it departed at 6:45 am and was diverted back to Nairobi.
The flight schedules on the web also detailed that there was another Jambojet flight scheduled for Eldoret International Airport from JKIA Nairobi at 12:10 pm.
Kenya Airways is yet to issue any statement on the incident.
Also Read: Most Offensive and Annoying Airplane Behaviors
Earlier Incidences of JKIA Plane Diversions
In two separate incidents in December 2023, Kenya Airways planes were diverted back to JKIA in Nairobi.
On December 16, a Dubai bound plane was diverted after Air Traffic Control encountered tyre debris during a regular runway inspection. The plane was landed at the airport without any incident.
A few days later on December 17, another KQ flight headed to Kigali, Rwanda from Nairobi was diverted back because of low visibility and bad weather.
“Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) confirms that on 17 December 2023 at approximately 07:45 hrs (East African Time), KQ 478, on a scheduled operation from Nairobi to Kigali, encountered low visibility and deteriorating weather on the normal approach to land at Kigali International Airport,” Kenya Airways confirmed in a statement.