Landing mishap closes JKIA’s single runway, again, while airlines face huge financial losses, AGAIN

JKIA RUNWAY CLOSURE ONCE AGAIN COSTS AIRLINES DEARLY

A landing mishap by reportedly Egypt Air, which according to reports came in long, skidded off the runway and got stuck in the mud, has prompted all incoming and outgoing flights from Nairobis Jomo Kenyatta Airport to be diverted and delayed indefinitely, it was learned two hours ago. No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported as yet and the aircraft, as this report goes to press, is still to be recovered and towed to a parking area for inspection and assessment on airworthiness status.
Long thought by Kenya Airports Authority if not the Kenyan government as a luxury, the need for a second runway has never been more urgent than when the single runway of East Africas most important hub is closed for whatever reason, and today is once again the day when airlines, in particular Kenya Airways, will be counting the cost of the second runway still being years away from even being constructed, as outgoing flights are being delayed and cancelled while inbound traffic has ended up in Mombasa, Eldoret, Entebbe, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam, causing untold interruption of travel schedules for tourists and meeting schedules for business travelers.
A regular and often very outspoken aviation source from JKIA in a call an hour ago had this to say: When are these *@$!%^ +#%&@~! finally going to start that process of getting permission to build a second runway. All good about the new terminals but if aircraft cannot come in or leave that will be in vain. We need that second runway NOW and a day like this will cost the airlines at JKIA millions in extra fuel burn, crews being out of hours after intercontinental flights requiring minimum rest time before they can fly the aircraft from wherever they were diverted to back to Nairobi, full flights not leaving and connections missed at the other end, hotels to be booked for passengers with meals and all and a shouting lot at our hands who will not appreciate that it is not the airlines but the airport at fault. KAA should be privatized and run like a business and all those political appointees should be retired so that the priorities can be identified by the aviation industry and turned into reality. We have for too long been punch bags for the bureaucrats. OK, such an incident can happen but really, w second runway would allow the airport to remain operational. We have no idea how long the clearing will take and then a lot of flights will have to sit in other airports for more time because the crews are no longer legal to fly until they have rested before launching into another tirade of unprintable expletives over having to deal with scores of angry passengers wanting to leave for home or wherever they were scheduled to go and KAA not being able to give any detailed information of the time frame before flight operations can resume.
From reports received from other airports in the region it is clear that their parking capacity, as well as the lounge capacity at these airports and room capacity at nearby hotels is reaching saturation point and that the airlines with representation in these airports are calling in staff from their town offices to deal with the sudden inflow of passengers who may well have to be accommodated until the crews can take them to Nairobi. There, in the meantime, hotels are also filling up and the backlog of passengers is rapidly increasing to all destinations on domestic, regional and intercontinental routes, posing logistical nightmares for operations staff here and at the respective affected airlines home hubs. Watch this space while JKIA is attempting to get traffic underway again.

Meanwhile has Kenya Airways issued the following statement for their passengers and those expecting travelers in Nairobi to give full information on the current situation, unlike any other airline contacted at JKIA: 

 

Wednesday, June 06^th 2012

 

Kenya Airways Statement

Kenya Airways would like to inform its passengers, customers and the public that Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has been closed indefinitely since 0400hrs today Wednesday June 6^th 2012, due to a disabled aircraft on the runway.

All Kenya Airways morning arrivals have been diverted to Mombasa, Entebbe and Dar es Salam as below.

Flights diverted to Mombasa international airport includes, KQ311 from Dubai, KQ203 ex Mumbai, KQ101 ex London, KQ466 ex Bujumbura & Kigali, KQ331 ex Jeddah, KQ521 ex Dakar & Abidjan, KQ765 from Johannesburg.

Flights diverted to Entebbe international Airport in Uganda includes, KQ542 ex Lagos & Cotonou, KQ321 exCairo& Khartoum, KQ511 from Freetown &Accra and KQ117 from Amsterdam.

KQ 221 from New Delhi has been diverted to Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar Es Salam.

All departing flights from JKIA Nairobi have been delayed indefinitely.

Kenya Airways station offices in Entebbe, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam have arranged for special handling of passengers affected by the disruptions.  We may also experience resultant delays and cancellations as a result this disruption and appeal to our affected passengers for understanding and patience during this period.

 

All the concerned stakeholders at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are working to remove the grounded aircraft to ensure normal operations resume.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

For further details please contact any Kenya Airways sales office, travel agents or call our 24hr call center on 327 4747 and our website www.kenya-airways.com.

 

Corporate Communications Office

Kenya Airways

Arusha Municipal Airport set to reopen in July following extensive rehabilitation works

ARUSHA AIRPORT SET TO REOPEN
The current repairs on the Arusha Municipal Airports runway are nearing the end it was learned when discussing the forthcoming Karibu Tourism and Travel Fair starting this weekend in East Africas Safari Capital.
From what we have been told they expect to finish the work by mid July and even Precision Air will start flights again. We have all been complaining that for every flight we must go to Kilimanjaro which is too far away and now we can have the safari flights and even domestic flights use Arusha again. We only hope that those guys at Kilimanjaro are not crying again about losing revenue but really, the convenience of our clients should be the most important issue here. If we can fly to and from Arusha the cost of air safaris will be reduced by the cost of the long transfer to Kilimanjaro and the loss of time which we had so far said the regular source from Arusha when talking to this correspondent yesterday.
In a follow up it was also confirmed that Precision Air indeed plans to restore flights into Arusha using ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft for domestic services, which is thought to increase their traffic share and support from the local business community in and around Arusha, which hitherto had to drive 50+ kilometres to JRO to catch a flight. The same source at Precision, on condition of anonymity, also reconfirmed that their planned flights to Lusaka and Lubumbashi / Congo DR will commence on 22nd June and will operate three times a week using a B737-300 aircraft. Watch this space.

Air Tanzania boss axed, 4 top staff suspended to make way for investigations

AIR TANZANIA BOSS AXED, FOUR MORE SUSPENDED AS NEW BROOMS SWEEP HARD

All posturing and peacock strutting about was not enough to save the former Acting Chief Executive Paul Chizi from the axe, which fell on him when the newly appointed Minister for Transport used a provision in law to remove him from office and instead appointed Mr. Lazaro Lusajo as the new Acting Chief Executive / Managing Director.
Four other officials were by ministerial directive also suspended to make way for a range of investigations now unfolding as the new minister too, like his colleague in natural resources and tourism, is set to sweep out corruption and incompetence following damning parliamentary findings of the true extent how the airline is indebted and has dragged government with guarantees into the dark deep financial red.
The suspended officials, all also working in an acting capacity, are AG Commercial Director Kagirwa Josephat, AG Finance Director Bashara Justus, Acting Legal Counsel Mziray Amini and AG Director of Engineering Ringo John who are now under formal probe by a three person panel of experts which is in particular looking at transactions made in recent months.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Eng. Omari Chambo, when making the announcement on behalf of the Ministry, appears to have acknowledged that these personnel changes may be a temporary challenge for the fledgling carrier, presently operating a single B737-500 leased only weeks ago and flying on the Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro Mwanza routes, which has been struggling to regain market share from the private airlines now operating successfully in Tanzania, foremost of course Precision Air.
Sadly, more bad news about ATCL but not entirely unexpected as repeatedly suggested here, that not all is well with that state corporation which should for all purposes be declared bankrupt over long pending debts and closed down for good to spare the Tanzanian taxpayer from yet more damages than the multi million US Dollar obligations current and past managements left for the central government to absorb once again. Watch this space for regular and breaking news from East Africas vibrant aviation scene.

Kenya Airways share rights issue announcement set for later today along full year financial results

KENYA AIRWAYS DAY OF RECKONING ARRIVES

Today is the official announcement expected by Kenya Airways and their financial advisory team of how the recently concluded share rights issue was accepted in the market place alongside the announcement of financial year results for 2011/12.
Overshadowed by continuously high interest rates, a deterrent of significance for private investors many of whom in the past borrowed against the shares they purchase then with loans, institutional investors were all reported to have taken up their share allocation and in the case of the IFC, the World Banks private sector lending institution, bought into the airline in a major way from outside.
While the tight lipped approach worked for some time, in recent days some leaks appeared from usually reliable sources and word in the financial corridors have it that 77 percent of take up has been accomplished at closure of the offer, with private investors largely forfeiting on their rights. However, the airline and their financial advisory team were locked in talks with additional financial investors and institutions to take up those unclaimed share rights, and that in fact will be the much awaited core of the announcement later today in Nairobi, just who and how much such a potential or several investors may have snapped up, as the share price had gone well above the 14 KShs per share the airline had asked for.
Meanwhile though, from a merely mathematical stand point should the 77 percent figure be confirmed later today, have the two main shareholders the Government of Kenya and KLM numerically increased their holdings from 23 and 26 percent respectively, a combined 49 percent as it stood before the share rights issue, probably increased their new stake well into the combined 50 percent range of ownership. The arrival though of new investors, eventually buying into the airline, would reduce that level again towards the pre-share rights issue holding of 49 percent. One thing though is clear, that the mandatory ownership of 51 percent resting in Kenyan hands, has been retained to secure the crucial status as a Kenyan owned airline, with wide implications on traffic rights under respective bilateral air services agreements. Watch this space as results will be announced later today and instantly reported right here.

Ugandan police and security deploy in hotels and malls to boost security

POLICE TAKE OVER HOTEL AND MALL SECURITY IN KAMPALA
As witnessed in recent days across the city, Ugandan security organs have been seconded to Kampalas leading hotels, malls, high rises and even buildings under construction near sensitive sites, also confirmed late yesterday from a top cop in Uganda, who on condition of strict anonymity said to this correspondent: You know that since our boys went into Somalia for the AU and the UN we have been threatened by Al Shabab. They bombed us on the evening of the World Cup final and even while we got the culprits and they are in court or already sentenced, the threat remains. Kenya has joined in our fight in Somalia and you know, in fact you always write the moment something happens. I read you so I know. We have been given intelligence reports that Al Shabab is planning something dramatic and we will not wait for something to happen. This is a big year for Uganda. We are turning 50 as a nation and tourism is flourishing, trade is developing and our oil industry will bring new chances for investors. So we must protect our people, our visitors, our sites. We have not taken over security as such in hotels but are now complementing what they have at Serena, Sheraton, Munyonyo and so forth. The hotel security is boosted by our own boys now who are armed and well trained to monitor and do surveillance in the interest of increased security. You ask your friends at those hotels, they still have their own security of course, external and internal but we now work much more closely. I know some will talk of police state and such rubbish but at least you know that this is not true. We will boost our CCTV capacity also in key places and when we are now deploying in hotels this is for security, not what some of the press always insinuate like shadowing opposition or spy on someone. Our presence makes the hotels and malls safer. We can never guarantee total safety but our people will play their role to extend the best possible protection for Ugandans and our visitors. You tell them that. Of late several internationally wanted terrorists were reported to have crossed into Uganda in a clandestine manner and a manhunt is underway. The Martyrs Day Celebrations last Sunday went peaceful as the largest number of pilgrims in years made their way to the Namugongo Shrine, and tight security was in place with far in advance of the venue screening of vehicles and pedestrians, letting the event pass without incident. Well done there for the boys in blue, white and camouflage, keep up the good work!

Emirates continues market offensive on several levels to counter existing and new competition

EMIRATES CONTINUES MARKET OFFENSIVE WITH ENHANCED INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Dubais award winning national airline Emirates continues to work the market in East Africa hard, in the face of increased competition by Gulf rivals Qatar Airways, soon to launch their 5th East African destination, and Etihad, coming to Nairobi more recently as their first East African destination, but also from the traditional European heavyweights, all of which have taken extra efforts to lure passengers during the busy summer season on to their flights with generous baggage allowance offers and attractive fares.
The recently launched Hello Tomorrow campaign has hit the market running and has received much attention in the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan market places, where Emirates presently flies to daily.
The latest emphasis by the airline is to highlight their new enhanced inflight entertainment product ice short for Information, Communications and Entertainment, using larger state of the art touch screens available in all three classes on the B777 fleet and shortly also on the A380 fleet.

(Picture courtesy of HK Strategies / Emirates)

According to information availed overnight to this correspondent, passengers will now be able to enjoy Emirates award-winning entertainment with wider personal TV screens: 27-inch in First Class, 20-inch in Business Class and 12.1 inch in Economy Class-an increase from the 10.9 inch screen-making the latter the biggest in the world. Additionally, Emirates new screens feature high definition (HD) resolution, making it one of the worlds first commercial airlines to install such state-of-the-art technology. With the new cutting-edge HD-enabled screens, Emirates passengers will now enjoy video content in bright, vivid colour and ultra-sharp detail.
Emirates goal is to ensure maximum comfort and choice for passengers during their in-flight entertainment, communications and inflight experience said Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates Regional Manager for East Africa in his communication before adding: In this, like other areas of its operation, Emirates seeks to lead the industry, enabling our customers to get the very most out of their Emirates journey.
Emirates has over the years bagged more than 500 international awards, including for best inflight entertainment, and operates an all wide body fleet of more than 170 aircraft with a further 230 on order for delivery over the next years. The airline presently flies to 123 destinations, more like Barcelona following soon, in 73 countries, connecting the world via Dubai like few others. Notably, Emirates operates both Boeing and Airbus aircraft and is the largest operator in the world of the giant A380. Visit www.emirates.com for more information on schedules, fares and specials from an airport near you.

Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair opens on Friday with a dedicated day for tourism professionals

KARIBU FAIR OPENS ON 08TH June 6, 2012

East Africas most important international tourism trade show, the Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair, is going to open its doors at the Arusha Showground on Friday this week with a dedicated tourism trade day for professional visitors and the media only, before on Saturday and Sunday offering entrance to all spectators, expected to flock to the Arusha Showground in their tens of thousands to sample the attractions the region as a whole has to offer to visitors and domestic / regional travelers.
The annual Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair is organized by the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators in conjunction with the Tanzania Tourist Board and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and has established itself over the years as the premier regional tourism trade show for Eastern Africa, with exhibitors not just coming from the entire region and beyond but as far as Seychelles, while buyers now come from as far as the US and the Far East to meet the regional tourism trade in one compact event. While in Tanzania many of them then take advantage to sample the greatest safari show on earth as a regular source from Arusha put it in an overnight mail, from East Africas safari capital Arusha. Visit www.karibufair.com for more information, as the opening of the event is now imminent.

KQ passengers to the US via Paris can now enjoy more transatlantic flights on the A380

ALLIANCE LINKS GIVE KENYA AIRWAYS PASSENGERS ACCESS TO A380 FLIGHTS TO THE US

The membership in SkyTeam by Kenya Airways gives passengers flying with The Pride of Africa to Paris a third connection on the giant A380 aircraft into the US, now that partner Air France has made Los Angeles their latest daily destination served with this aircraft type. Information now confirmed indicates that the daily A380 flights commenced on 28th of May and follow in the footsteps of daily services to New York and Washington DC which paved the way for Air France into the US switching from the smaller B777 to the worlds largest passenger plane. The B777 though is still used for the additional daily flights between Paris, JFK, IAD and LAX as the airline presently only has 8 A380 on its fleet.
Although the flights are not code shared between Air France and Kenya Airways these services are however code shared with KLM, Delta and Alitalia through-ticketing at often very attracting pricing is available for passengers using Kenya Airways as their airline of choice out of Africa, and needless to say are privileges for frequent flyers extended, miles earned and benefits given even on Air France operated sectors.
Related information also given by the same source in Nairobi also speaks of a 4 times a week A380 service to Montreal / Canada, the airlines fourth A380 destination in North America. Said the source, with not little pride: With our alliance passengers from East Africa also have access to the A380, not just when flying via the Gulf, and you should mention that to your readers yes Sir, duly noted and delivered.

Maige’s tainted legacy torn to shreds by more revelations and PCCB investigation

THE VULTURES ARE CIRCLING ON MAIGES TAINTED LEGACY
The parliamentary committees report, which led to the downfall of former disgraced, and often said to be quite inept tourism minister Ezekiel Maige, has now triggered a formal investigation by the Tanzanian anti corruption watch dog PCCB, which is investigating the ministers and his ministry officials conduct over the hugely controversial allocation of hunting blocks last year.
The investigation must have been ongoing for a while as a regular source from Dar es Salaam confirmed overnight that while the matter has only just come into the public domain, questions by PCCB investigators appear to have been posed for several months already and fear if not panic is spreading amongst suspected participants in the scheme within the Wildlife Department.
New minister Khamis Kagesheki has upon assuming office as the minister for natural resources and wildlife made it abundantly clear that we intends to leave no stone unturned to rid his ministry of corrupt and in his words unpatriotic civil servants which have disgraced the sector in the past. A number of jobs are on the line as both internal ministry investigations as well as the more official PCCB probe are underway and it is understood that the parliamentary committee on natural resources and wildlife too is not letting go, having claimed the scalp of the minister but wanting to see culprits charged in court and prosecuted over their alleged conduct.
The source also made comments available from the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureaus Director General who reportedly said: At the moment I cannot reveal anything. We are still investigating the whole exercise and when this is done you will be informed before adding PCCB will leave no stone unturned in the investigation. The parliamentary committed had unearthed a range of glaring irregularities in the allocation of hunting blocks, allegedly denying government revenue through corrupt practices, which saw as many as 16 companies without a formal application being granted a hunting block while others were denied renewals under the pretext of giving Tanzanian companies a chance to get into the business. The subsequent outcry was dismissed at the time by Maige and his top lieutenants but as the parliamentary enquiry marched on he was eventually running out of excuses and found himself in a self created minefield of both official and unofficial comments he had made and subsequently, seen as a growing liability, got sacked from cabinet.
Hunting in East Africa is a hugely controversial activity and regularly under fire by the conservation community which complains that poaching is tearing greatly into the available wildlife stocks as it is, making hunting unsustainable, while pointing to past experience where in particular Middle Eastern block holders literally shot their concession empty with little if any supervision, before allegedly lighting fires inside parks and neighbouring blocks to drive game into their own sectors. Demands to ban hunting completely however have fallen on deaf ears so far in Tanzania as at least in the past this development is at least circumstantial evidence towards that theory has been lucrative enough to use corrupt practices to get hunting blocks allocated and then mint money, while supervision, monitoring and reporting remained deeply flawed.
Only last Friday did the chairman of the parliamentary committee make further comments in response to a WWF report on poaching in Tanzania and revelations by the Environmental Investigation Agency based in the UK over the scale of poaching in his country, which claimed that nearly 50 percent of the blood ivory nabbed in 2010 originated from Tanzania, following DNA analysis of the contraband. He alleged that between 20 30 elephant a day are being poached across Tanzania, progressively decimating previously thriving elephant populations in the interest of short lived financial gains and blamed corruption in the wildlife and other sectors for it.
Speaking at the launch of the Africa Ecological Footprint Report by the WWF in conjunction with the African Development Bank on Friday last week in Arusha, the WWF Director General, Mr. Jim Leape, was reported to have said the great demand for ivory (and rhino horns) in Asia was a matter of serious concern.
He demanded of African governments to protect the fragile ecosystem in the continent which was under pressure from spreading human populations into areas previously thought barely fit for farming, now causing increased human / wildlife conflict. Mr Leape was quoted to have said: Elephant populations in Central Africa alone are estimated to have declined by more than 50 per cent between 1995 and 2007 primarily due to poaching.
Watch this space.