Electric fault caused Kenya airport fire

A fire that destroyed part of a Kenyan international airport that severely disrupted air traffic in the region was caused by an electrical hitch

Smoke rises from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi

A fire that destroyed part of a Kenyan international airport was caused by an electrical hitch. (AAP)

The fire that gutted part of Nairobi's international airport in early August was caused by an electrical fault, Kenya's Transport Minister Michael Kamau said Friday.

"From the evidence collected, experts' report and eye witness accounts, it is evident that the fire... resulted from an electrical hitch that started from the electric distribution board," Kamau told journalists.

He said the fire had a negligible impact on passenger traffic, as a monthly average of some 400,000 passengers used the airport in August and in September, little changed from the previous year.

Operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, severely disrupted in the days following the fire, were now back on track, he said.

All departure gates have now reopened and domestic flight operations have returned to the domestic terminal after temporarily operating out of the cargo section.

International arriving and departing passengers now no longer mingle in the same corridors, the minister added.


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