Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Power Outage Linked To System Failures

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has identified system failures as the cause behind a nearly 2-hour power outage at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

In an update provided late Friday night on August 25, KAA disclosed that a generator serving JKIA’s Terminal 1A and the parking silo failed to initiate.

The power disruption occurred against the backdrop of a nationwide power outage that affected the entire country at approximately 9 pm on the same day.

KAA released a statement in regards to JKIA Blackout saying, “Jambo! Following a nationwide power blackout, one of the generators serving JKIA’s T1A & Parking Silo failed to start resulting in an outage in a section of the airport. This has been rectified & all generators are now fully operational. Power has been restored to the affected areas.”

Also Read: Energy Committee Summons CS Chirchir, Kenya Power Boss Siror Over Nationwide Blackout

Power was reinstated around 11:50 pm, alleviating the impact on passengers, including those at the immigration and baggage handling sections of JKIA.

Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen expressed regret over the incident and the subsequent public concern. Promising an investigation into the technical malfunctions at one of Africa’s largest airports, he commented, “I am really sorry for what has happened at JKIA with the blackout. There is no excuse worth reporting, and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness.”

Murkomen, the former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator, announced that he would address the nation on August 26, providing a comprehensive report on the technical glitches at JKIA. He stated, “I will be announcing the decision we will make tomorrow at 9 am at JKIA after a meeting with the leadership of the airport. Once again, I am sorry.”

As of December 2022, JKIA had backup generators and two power substations in place to ensure continued operation during a nationwide outage.

In response to the larger power outage that affected the entire country, Parliament’s Energy Committee has summoned Energy CS Davis Chirchir and Kenya Power CEO Joseph Siror to elucidate the cause of the widespread blackout that transpired on Friday.