The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) was on Wednesday forced to deploy security officers at the exit of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's Terminal 1A in response to a protest among travelers whose tickets for a Nigeria-bound flight were abruptly cancelled.
According to sources within JKIA who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on condition of anonymity, the KAA communicated to the affected passengers that their flight would be delayed due to the late arrival of an aircraft arriving from Dubai.
The passengers, however, expressed their discontent with the timing and manner of this information, leading to a surge in frustration and protest.
A prevailing sentiment among the passengers was that the authority failed to notify them promptly about the flight delay, consequently disrupting their plans.
Due to the protests, the Kenya Airports Authority was forced to call in police officers attached to the Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU) who quickly stepped in to quell the disquiet.
However, despite attempts to contain the situation, the protesting passengers overpowered the officers.
"Most of the passengers were Nigerian and weren't happy with the communication. They became angry and vented out their frustrations," noted one JKIA official.
The flight operator however, issued an apology to the passengers and extended a gesture to them by booking a hotel for them to spend the night as it rescheduled the flight.
Recently, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen blamed the former administration for the dated infrastructure at JKIA over frequent power blackouts and viral videos showing roofs at the facility leaking.
Murkomen stated that the government has initiated the process of shortlisting contractors to begin renovations.
CS Murkomen further stated that a new terminal will be constructed at the international airport within 3 years to ease pressure on the existing facilities.
This came after Murkomen, in Mid-November, formed a committee to probe the infrastructural mess at JKIA.
