Disruption of supply of jet fuel affects flights at JKIA

Jambojet on Thursday morning cancelled several flights to Mombasa from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following an abrupt fuel hitch.

In a release, the airline blamed the problem on fuel supply at JKIA which caused all their flights to be delayed.

 “All our morning departures out of JKIA were affected. Flights from Mombasa hub are on schedule,” Jambojet said in a statement.

Confirming the hitch, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) said that the fuel supply disruption impacted airport operations, but the issue has been resolved and normal operations have resumed.

“KAA wishes to inform the public that there was an A1 fuel supply disruption this morning that affected operations at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The issue has been rectified, and normal airport operations have now resumed,” KAA said.

The Authority apologized for the inconveniences caused by the disruption and directed passengers to check their airlines for information about their flights.

“Our fuel supplier has resolved the issue and we are now refuelling ready for boarding,” Jambojet added.

However, it stated that the disruption would affect its services throughout the day.

Jet fuel is normally supplied by various licensed companies at airport facilities.

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka took to social media and said that there was a global alert indicating a fuel shortage at JKIA.

The Senator questioned why JKIA was experiencing such an incident when the government in engaged in a government-to-government (G to G) oil agreement.

“There is a global alert that there is no fuel at JKIA. Is this a result of us not being able to pay our fuel debts, and yet we are in a G-to-G arrangement that is to stabilize the macroeconomic environment by providing an extended credit period for petroleum imports,” he said.

The amount of jet fuel purchased by Kenyan airlines has increased in the past year, signalling a hike in air travel from local and international travelers.

According to official data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), airlines purchased 661,100 tonnes of fuel in 2023, an 11 per cent hike from the amount purchased during the previous year.

This has signalled the highest rise in jet fuel consumption since Covid-19, showing an improved performance in the aviation sector.