JKIA temporarily closed after bomb scare on KQ flight

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was temporarily closed Wednesday following a  bomb scare on a Kenya Airways (KQ) flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a statement, the airline said the passenger who raised the bomb scare had been taken into police custody and all the other passengers and crew disembarked for security re-screening while the aircraft underwent extensive security checks.

“At approximately 1315 GMT today Kenya Airways was notified of a possible bomb threat on one of our flights. The unfortunate bomb scare incident was reported on flight KQ 762, which was departing from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for OR-Tambo International Airport Johannesburg.” It said

The airline said this was a necessary a precautionary exercise.

“We work closely with the relevant law enforcement agencies, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Kenya Airports Authority to counter any security threats to our passengers and the country. We will give you further updates as we get them.”

Meanwhile, the Kenya Airport authority has assured the general public that flight operations at JKIA are now up and running following the bomb scare.

At the same time, Kenya Airways says Flight KQ 762 to Jo’burg from NBO is now scheduled to depart at 1930Hrs.

“All passengers have been processed and the aircraft cleared. The diverted flights have now been cleared to land at JKIA as the temporary shutdown has been lifted. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”