KENYA AIRWAYS RELEASES NEW SCHEDULE

Kenya Airways staff wait outside the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in

Nairobi on August 7, 2013

Kenya Airways has released a revised Thursday schedule for domestic flights following Wednesday's fire at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Titus Naikuni announced that flights for Thursday to and from Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa and Eldoret international airports will operate from the Cargo terminal to cover for the facilities destroyed in the morning inferno.

Although the national carrier said temporary measures have been put in place to ensure the flights resume, only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to fly on Thursday because “we do not have a ticketing service for tomorrow’s (Thursday's) flights.”

On Wednesday, more than 16,000 passengers were stranded after the fire caused a total shutdown of the airport. The government later reopened domestic flights mainly to the coastal city of Mombasa. It is understood the resumption of domestic flights could help bring in passengers of flights initially diverted to other airports in the country as emergency operators handled the crisis at JKIA.

In the new schedule, Kenya Airways announced there will be seven more flights to Mombasa from Nairobi. A further ten flights will depart the Moi International Airport in Mombasa for the JKIA on the same day. KQ will also schedule seven other flights between Nairobi and Kisumu and between Nairobi and Eldoret.

On Wednesday evening, Kenya Airports Authority officials were putting up a makeshift clearance desk at the domestic arrivals and departure sections to help handle the rescheduled flights on Thursday. KQ said there would be a number of international flights but only those with confirmed tickets would be allowed to board.

However, the morning flight KQ 760 to Johannesburg will be delayed for departure at 8.30am (East Africa Time). Flight KQ 419 from Entebbe to Nairobi will depart Entebbe International Airport in Uganda at 8 am local time.

Nation