Airport fuel hitch costs airlines

More than 10 airlines are counting their losses after they changed flight schedules following an abrupt fuel shortage at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Monday night.

The Kenya Association of Air Operators (Kaao) on Tuesday said the shortage caused by a pumping problem at the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) had left them with a “huge burden.”

“It was a very serious shortcoming for a critical part of the aviation industry,” Kaao chief executive Eutychus Waithaka told the Nation by phone.

“It is completely unacceptable, especially for an international airport. It was an inconvenience and a safety issue to users. The mathematics of the cost is a little complicated but it was a huge burden,” he said.

Passengers were on Monday forced to wait for their flights after a fuel hydrant stalled for close to six hours. Also held up was the Kenya’s national athletics team travelling to the World Championships in Moscow.

The team left on Tuesday morning.

The association, which represents more than 60 operators, said the incident resulted in massive changes to the flights schedules whose costs the airlines will have to meet.

Aircraft expected to land at JKIA had to be diverted to Moi International Airport in Mombasa or Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, Tanzania, due to congestion.

Those scheduled to flight out that Monday had to change plans because they had no fuel.

This, said Col Waithaka, cost airlines the most as they had to accommodate stranded passengers and pay fines for missed connection flights.

On Tuesday, JKIA manager Edward Kobuthi said 30 flights were affected.

Emirates, Ethiopian Air, KLM, British Airlines, Precision Air, African Express, Brussels Air and Kenya Airways are among the flights that were affected by the crisis.

Most of the flights expected to leave at 6pm eventually took off at around 10pm.