Bad weather at JKIA forces Kenya Airways plane to land in Arusha

A Kenya Airways (KQ) plane from Lusaka to Nairobi has been diverted to Arusha following two unsuccessful landing attempts at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Flight KQ708, which departed Lusaka at 03:45am, was expected to land at JKIA at 7:35am but could not do so because of heavy fog which was covering the airport.

Data from flight tracking site Flight Radar shows the plane unsuccessfully attempting to land twice at JKIA before it opted to divert to the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha where it landed safely at 8.25am.

“It is true that the aircraft had to divert to Arusha as per our safety protocols. It couldn’t land at the airport (JKIA) due to a heavy fog cover in the morning,” a Kenya Airways corporate affairs official said in a short response to the Nation.