Passengers stranded at Mombasa airport

Passengers were stranded for hours at Moi International Airport in Mombasa after flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were delayed.

Some Mombasa residents spent the night at the airport waiting for their relatives and friends to arrive.

A woman who declined to be named told the Nation that she had spent the night at the airport as she waited for her daughter to arrive from Nairobi.

“I came at 8pm on Sunday to receive my daughter, who was unwell and was travelling to Mombasa for holiday. Her KQ flight was slated to arrive in Mombasa at 8:40pm.

“I heard there was a delay but I was hoping things would get better, but I ended up spending the whole night at the airport waiting for [her] after I kept calling until her phone went off,” she added

James Nzuiya, a taxi driver, said he was expecting at least 20 guests, who were destined for a conference in the North Coast from around 7pm on Sunday night.

“We were told there were flights schedules for 7:25pm, 7:30pm and 8:40 and 9:40pm. The only flight that landed was at 4.50pm,” he said.

Mr Nzuiya blamed Kenya Airways for failing to inform people of the impending delays.

The delays followed a mishap at JKIA’s main runway on Sunday evening.

The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), in a post on Twitter, said the delays were caused by a small aircraft that crash-landed on the main runway.

Planes that were scheduled to land at JKIA were diverted to Moi International Airport in Mombasa and other airports as KAA staff battled to clear the plane and reopen the runway.

There was no official communication from the Mombasa airport management concerning the delays.