Kenya’s transport minister has issued an apology following a widespread electricity blackout that occurred the previous night, leaving passengers at Nairobi’s main airport in darkness.
According to a statement from Kenya Power, the electricity distribution company, power went out in various parts of the country at 9:45pm (18:45 GMT) on Friday due to a “system disturbance”.
Footage from local broadcaster NTV, shared online, showed passengers gathering in the dark at the main terminal of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), with some using their mobile phone torches for light.
Tourism plays a significant role in Kenya’s economy, and stranded travelers quickly took to social media to share images of the airport in darkness.
The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which operates the airport, stated that one of its standby generators, serving the terminal, failed to activate after the power outage.
Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, in a televised news conference on Saturday, confirmed that the generators for the flight control tower and airport runway remained functional throughout the incident. He also assured that no passengers or aircraft were endangered by the power outage.
Original from www.aljazeera.com