The Kenya Airports Authority on Friday morning issued an alert of possible flight delays due to heavy fog in Nairobi.
KAA advised passengers using Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Wilson Airport that their flights will be either delayed or diverted.
“Due to the current heavy fog being experienced in Nairobi, delays and diversions are expected to affect flight operations at JKIA.
Due to the current heavy fog being experienced in Nairobi, delays and diversions are expected to affect flight operations at JKIA . Please contact your airline for specific flight info.
— Kenya Airports (@KenyaAirports) August 10, 2018
“The weather conditions in the capital city have also affected operations at Wilson Airport,” the Authority added.
The weather conditions in the capital city have also affected operations at Wilson Airport. More updates to follow.
— Kenya Airports (@KenyaAirports) August 10, 2018
Travelers were asked to contact their airlines for specific flight information and await updates by the authority.
Last week, Kenya Airways was forced to divert five flights to other airports after bad weather prevented the planes from landing at the JKIA.
Aberdare Plane Crash
The warning comes in the wake of a plane crashing in the Aberdares due to bad weather. In June this year, a plane carrying 10 passengers from Kitale to Nairobi crashed killing everyone on board.
The ill-fated FlySAX planewas initially scheduled to land at the Wilson Airport, but air traffic controllers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) directed the pilots to head there instead.
This, according to those in the know, was because of bad weather that was being experienced in the city, specifically at Wilson Airport, which apparently does not have good gadgets to help in navigation.
Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau and First Officer Jean Mureithi were to take the Ngong route headed for Wilson Airport. They were flying at 11,000 feet and had to make a turn to get their way to JKIA through Ruiru and later Utawala and land on runway 24, an insider said.
Other pilots aware of the incident say the two colleagues complained and said they were not conversant with the route, but the controller insisted on the same, saying he would help them navigate. It was after they made a turn towards Aberdare Forest that air controllers lost contact with the plane.
The two crew and eight passengers of the aircraft that was on its way to Nairobi from Kitale had a horrific ending to what was supposed to be a one-hour flight, with some bodies decapitated by twisted metals, as the plane plunged into a hill.
The wreckage, was located in one of the peaks of Elephant Hills, in Aberdare Forest. The plane’s nose appeared to have hit the rocky peak before the craft came tumbling down 500 feet.
JKIA Ranked the Best Airport in Africa
Last month, JKIA was ranked as the best airport in Africa and 38th globally in the recent worldwide rankings 2018 done by Airhelp. The ranking was based on assessment of the quality of service, on-time performance, and the passenger experience of a given airport.
AirHelp examined data from December 22, 2017, to March 20, 2018, factoring in delayed and cancelled flights, public reviews from trustworthy sources and social media sentiment analysis.
On this account, JKIA emerged the best by scoring highly, flooring its African peers and hosts of globally respected airports. JKIA scored an overall 7.9 out of 10, 8.3 on-time performance, 7.2 quality of service, and 9.3 on passenger sentiments.