Passengers experience delays at JKIA as airlines clear backlog

Passengers departing from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) are experiencing massive delays as airlines rush to clear their backlogs.

This follows closure of the airport’s runway on Sunday after an aircraft from Somalia crash landed in the evening.

The Kenya Airports Authority reopened the runway a few minutes past midnight creating a large backlog of flights in and out of JKIA.

The authority had advised passengers to check with their airlines on the status of their flights.

“Thank you for being patient with us. Kindly check the status of your flight with your respective airline. We regret any inconvenience caused,” KAA said on its official twitter page.

By 9am national carrier Kenya Airways had 13 of its scheduled flights departing but expects massive delays in the course of the day.

“We expect spillover delays on today’s’ operations due runway closure yesterday at JKIA. Keep checking our website for updated departure times,” the airline told its passengers.

The runway closure has seen renewed calls for the construction of a second runway to ease traffic flow.

By February 2016, 8,785 aircraft were using the airport with the government announcing major expansion to position Kenya as an aviation hub.

The government in March canceled the construction of the Sh56 billion Greenfields Terminal, instead choosing to use the funds to construct a second runway.