Kenya's Minister of Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen, issued a formal apology on August 26 following a widespread electricity blackout that engulfed the main airport terminal in Nairobi the previous night, leaving passengers stranded in darkness. The power outage occurred as a result of a system disturbance, as per Kenya Power, the country's primary electricity distribution company.
The blackout occurred at 9:45 p.m. local time on August 25, impacting various parts of the country. The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the main hub for air travel in Kenya, experienced a major disruption as the main terminal was plunged into darkness. Footage captured by local broadcaster NTV depicted passengers huddled in the dimly lit terminal, with some resorting to using mobile phone torches to navigate their way.
Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), the entity responsible for airport operations, revealed that a stand-by generator serving the terminal failed to activate once the grid went offline. However, other critical systems, including those serving the flight control tower and the airport runway, remained operational throughout the incident.
Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen addressed the nation in a televised news conference, reassuring the public that neither passengers nor aircraft were endangered during the outage.
"I wish to issue an unreserved apology to all travelers and airport users who were affected in one way or another by the power disruption," he stated.
Kenya Airways, the national airline, did not provide an immediate response regarding the incident.
In response to the disruption, KAA's board took swift action. The Managing Director, Alex Gitari, had his contract terminated, and Henry Ogoye was appointed as the acting head. Additionally, JKIA's manager, Abel Gogo, was reassigned to oversee a different airport, with Selina Gor assuming his role.
Minister Murkomen emphasized that KAA is taking proactive steps to prevent future occurrences of such nature. He revealed plans to expedite the deployment of two already-procured generators to ensure the airport's resilience in similar situations.
Kenya Power announced that supply was restored to the airport approximately five hours after the initial blackout. However, many homes and businesses across the country remained without power for more than 15 hours after the incident commenced.
While power outages are not uncommon in Kenya, disruptions on this scale rarely impact airport operations. No recent records of such incidents could be found, making this event an exceptional case in the country's aviation history.
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