A Kenya Airways plane on Monday, July 11, turned back to Nairobi after it experienced bad weather while trying to land at its destination in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Kenyan journalist Wanjohi Colleta, who was aboard the flight, confirmed that the pilot informed the passengers that Bole International Airport had been shut down over bad weather.
Being one of the region's busiest airports and the largest in Ethiopia - the situation quickly affected aviation activities in the neighboring countries.
"Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Addis Ababa forced to return to Nairobi after it could not land due to bad weather. The pilot says Addis Ababa has temporarily shut down the airport and so we are back to Nairobi," Coletta shared.
Traffic destined to the Addis Ababa airport was diverted to other airports within the vicinity of the East Africa aviation giant.
Among the destinations where airplanes were diverted include Ethiopia's Dire Dawa, Bahir Dar, and Awasa airports.
Other flights were diverted to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti.
Several planes belonging to Ethiopian Airlines were grounded at JKIA for the better part of Monday afternoon as they awaited the weather in their home base to clear.
No accidents were, however, reported as the authorities managed to redirect all planes without a hitch. A weather forecast report from the Kenya Meteorological Department for July predicted cold weather conditions characterized by occasional drizzles and fog.
Kenya and the larger Eastern Africa region are currently experiencing the winter season which normally occurs in July. Temperatures are expected to fall below 10 degrees in some parts of the country.
The meteorological department has predicted that the country is also going to experience some days of prolonged cloudy weather.
The incident came amid the rising number of road accidents, some of which have been attributed to the low visibility being experienced in the country.
