This archive report was first published on 7 November 2019.
Published on November 7, 2019, a severe jet fuel shortage hit the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, forcing airlines to divert to regional airports for fuelling.
Airlines operating from JKIA were forced to divert to regional airports for fuelling due to a severe jet fuel shortage, which was expected to last until Sunday.
The shortage was attributed to inadequate orders by oil marketing companies that sell directly to airlines, according to reliable sources.
However, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority's director general, Gilbert Kibe, stated that normal supply was expected to resume by March 10th, as a fresh delivery had arrived in Mombasa and was yet to be pumped to Nairobi.
"We have issued a notice to airlines and they are aware of the current shortage that we are facing," said Mr. Kibe.
Several airlines were affected by the shortage, including Egypt Air Flight MS850, which made a technical stop-over at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda for refuelling.
Other airlines, such as Nairobi-based cargo airline Astral Aviation, had to fuel their aircraft in Juba, Mogadishu, and Djibouti, while some flights from Europe were expected to fuel at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.
The shortage subjected airlines to expensive jet fuel in other airports, with prices ranging from $12 cents to $38 cents higher than in Nairobi.
Kenya Airways chairman Michael Joseph stated that the national carrier had not yet felt the shortage.
