Following a fire outbreak that brought aviation activities to a temporary halt at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, on 7 August, Kenya Airways has resumed normal operations at the airport.
The fire that destroyed departure and arrival facilities at the airport affected the ability of KQ and other airlines to provide normal services which led to closure of the airport and suspension of flights. Upon re-opening after about eight hours, Kenya Airways began operations at a much scaled down leve,l but the situation has gradually improved and it is now able to operate at near-optimal level.
The Government of Kenya through its airports management agency, Kenya Airport Authority, has put in place temporary measures to enable normal operations. These include temporary arrival transit facilities and passenger holding areas. Domestic flights are now being handled from a temporary terminal in the cargo area. Inter-terminal transport services have also been enhanced through provision of adequate buses as transfers between domestic and international arrival and departure areas take place.
At the moment, KQ international departures are being processed out of Unit 3 (formerly domestic) with a few flights, including partner/customer airlines, processing their departures out of Unit 2. As of today, the airline and the customer airlines it handles will operate international flights out of Unit 2, while all other international carriers will operate from Unit 3.
The Government of Kenya has announced plans to build a temporary terminal over the next two months, avail more stable temporary arrivals facilities by converting the parking garage under construction into an arrivals lounge by the end of September, and accelerate the construction of the new terminal (Terminal 4) to be ready next year.