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Kenya’s transport minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, apologised to the nation late on Friday night time after a widespread electrical energy blackout left passengers on the foremost airport in Nairobi grappling in darkness.
Power went off in lots of elements of the nation at 9.45 p.m. on Friday, the electrical energy distribution firm Kenya Power stated in a press release, attributing the loss to “a system disturbance leading to the loss of bulk power supply”.
Images of stranded passengers sitting in darkness on the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) quickly surfaced on social media. The airport operator, Kenya Airports Authority, stated that one among its stand-by mills on the facility didn’t kick in.
“I’m really sorry for what has happened at the JKIA with the blackout,” Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen stated on social media platform X, previously Twitter. “There is no excuse worth reporting, and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness.”
I’m actually sorry for what has occurred at JKIA with the blackout. There is not any excuse price reporting and there’s no motive why our airport is in darkness. I will likely be saying the choice we’ll make tomorrow 9am at JKIA after a gathering with the management of the airport.…
— KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN, E.G.H (@kipmurkomen) August 25, 2023
It was not instantly clear how the shortage of energy on the airport, a key gateway for leisure and enterprise travellers into the continent, affected flights.
Officials at nationwide airline Kenya Airways weren’t instantly obtainable for remark.
Kenya Power stated it had restored provide to the airport 5 hours after the incident started. Many houses and companies had been nonetheless with out energy greater than 12 hours after the blackout began.
While widespread energy outages do occur in Kenya, it’s uncommon for the blackouts to have an effect on operations on the airport, with no stories of such incidents in current reminiscence.
