Kenya Airport Runway Closes After Aborted Takeoff

Originally published on Airways

Kenya’s main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO) has temporarily closed its only runway 06/24 after an aborted takeoff by a Singapore Airlines (SQ) cargo aircraft on Monday.

Jomo Kenyatta International is the largest airport in Kenya and is just eight miles from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has closed the 13,507 ft/ 4,200m runway and has suspended all incoming and outgoing flights due to technical issues. 

At 4:30 AM, a Singapore Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400F registered 9V-SFO was scheduled to conduct flight SQ-7343 from NBO to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and arrive at 11:40 AM. However, as the aircraft was accelerating down runway 06, the crew rejected takeoff at high speed because of a bird strike in one of the engines.

The aircraft slowed down and has been stuck nearly 10,000 feet/3,048 meters down the runway ever since. This has resulted in a suspension of all flights scheduled to depart and arrive at NBO to avoid further damages.

Flights, including a Kenya Airlines (KQ) flight from New York JFK, have diverted to Entebbe International Airport (EBB) as the Boeing 747F remains on the active runway. 

A Single Runway

In a Twitter statement, the Kenya Airports Authority commented, “Our top priority is the safety of all passengers, and we are working closely with the relevant authorities to resolve this situation as quickly and safely as possible. As a result of the runway closure, all incoming and outgoing flights have been temporarily suspended.”

Just fourteen months ago, the Kenya Airports Authority temporarily closed NBO’s runway after a mechanical failure left an aircraft on the runway blocking flights from taking off and landing. Flights were diverted to Dar es Salam in Tanzania and Mombasa, Kenya. The single runway at NBO is often closed during the nighttime for maintenance. 

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is one of the largest airports in Africa. The runway was built in the 1970s and handled up to seven million passengers annually. In 2016, the Kenya Airports Authority began planning to construct a second runway, but the project collapsed two years later.

Depending on a single runway is not viable for an airport, especially when accidents occur.