By Jerry Okungu
Nairobi, Kenya
August 14, 2013
For decades, Nairobi has
gained the reputation as the business hub of East Africa. For years we have
taken it for granted that whatever happens in Nairobi and Kenya for that matter
is likely to be felt in the entire region. The reality is Nairobi is more than
a hub to the people of East Africa. It is indeed the heart beat of the region
that pumps blood into the commercial life of Eastern Africa. Anything that makes
this heart skip a beat has serious consequences for the normal life of the
region.
Compared to London, New
York, Amsterdam or even Paris, Nairobi international airport is a dwarf among
international air travel giants. However, back home here in Africa, the amount
of traffic and air travel connectivity can only compare with South Africa’s
Oliver Tambo International Airport.
In our region, Nairobi
International Airport serves airlines from Entebbe, Kigali, Bujumbura, Dar es
Salaam, Kilimanjaro Airport, Addis Ababa, Mogadishu, Khartoum, Juba and
Kinshasa among others. JKIA is the regional operators’ stepping stone to the
rest of the world. It was the reason when rebel soldiers closed the airport in
1982; the repercussions were felt far and wide. It was the same reason when
some hooligans uprooted a few railway lines in Kibera in 2008 at the height of
the conflict in Kenya; the repercussions were felt as far as Kampala, Kigali
and Kinshasa not to mention northern Tanzania.
Let us look at the
consequences of the fire that gutted the arrival terminal of JKIA.
A minor fire that started
somewhere between Immigration Department at the Arrival Terminal went out of
control. In a matter of minutes the small fire turned into a blaze that forced
the authorities at Kenya Airports Authority to shut down the entire airport. In
a matter of minutes no planes were allowed to land or take off. Incoming
flights were diverted to Mombasa, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro
airports. It was a chaotic scene not just in Nairobi but in all the other
airports to which the flights were diverted.
This latest fire disaster
at JKIA reminded me of an incident in which I was involved way back in 1987.
It was one of those
mornings that I took a local flight from Nairobi to Kisumu. At that time the
only airline that operated from Nairobi to Kisumu was a Kenya Airways Fokker27.
As we approached the
Kisumu Airport flying over Lake Victoria, we realized that the plane was not
descending. We flew over the tiny airport twice when the pilot announced that
the wheels had jammed making it difficult for him to land in Kisumu. He
informed us that our only choice was to fly back to Nairobi however; he faced
another problem- he was running out of fuel!
His reason for flying back
to JKIA was because Kisumu had no Emergency Landing facilities like fire
fighters, doctors, nurses, medical equipment and ambulances.
Half way through our
flight to JKIA, the pilot chose to prepare us for emergency landing explaining
that when the plane crash lands, it nose dives making it impossible for front
seat passengers to survive. We were therefore ordered to vacate our front seats
and stand at the back for those who had no seats.
To say that we were a
frightened lot is an understatement. I drank all the whiskies I could lay my
hands on because I knew that this was it. We were either going crash in
mountains of Rift Valley due to fuel shortage or if we made it to JKIA, the
hard concrete on the runway was waiting for us.
When we got to JKIA, the
first thing I saw was a sea of ambulances, white coated medical personnel,
countless fire fighting trucks with fire
men at the ready. Yes, there was maximum emergency preparedness for a Fokker
27. But again, that level of seriousness also told us that we were in real
danger of dying that morning.
Our good pilot tried to
land twice and twice he failed. I think he was praying for a miracle to happen
so that he could unlock the wheels. On the third attempt, his prayers were
answered and the wheels unlocked! We clapped, cheered and cried with joy at the
same time.
If 26 years ago, there was
that level of preparedness at JKIA what has happened to the JKIA management
nearly three decades later? If we could have competent emergency services those
many years ago, what has happened in between? How could a small fire which
could have been put out by a handheld fire extinguisher be allowed to consume
the entire arrival terminal, Immigration and Customs Departments? What happened
to regular Emergency Drills were used to in years gone by?
If Kenya Airways alone
lost US $ 4 million in those three days of chaos, how many losses were incurred
by airlines from Entebbe, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Addis Ababa,
Amsterdam and London that had to deal with stranded passengers in their airports?
What of business premises
that and hoteliers operated their outfits at the arrival terminal? Who will
compensate them for their losses? What if their insurers decline their claims
on suspicion that it was arson?
The heartbeat of East
Africa needs better than this!
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